


Can't You Stay Just A Second Longer

by Dinosaur1212



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Committed to finishing this, F/F, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Josie is forever a pyro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2020-11-08 15:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20838176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinosaur1212/pseuds/Dinosaur1212
Summary: It has been months since Penelope broke up with Josie. Penelope is burying herself in research, and is slowly becoming more and more withdrawn from everyone as she gets deeper into her research. Meanwhile, Josie is having issues processing her emotions, and it doesn't help that Penelope keeps popping up in her life when she least expects it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am with another story! It was originally intended to be a one shot, but then I just got so many ideas for it, so now it will be multiple chapters, and I am excited to write it. It is going to loosely follow events of the show, meaning I am just incorporating a few of the elements into my story, but I am putting my own spin on it. Without further ado, on with the story!

The day Penelope Park broke up with Josie, she did it for multiple selfish reasons. At least, that is what she told herself, because Penelope believed that she was a truly selfish person. She would never be able to admit to herself that she did it so that Josie could become her own person and step into the light, that just wasn't a viable option. So rather, Penelope decided that the reason she broke up with Josie was because she couldn't stand being put second all the time. She was still madly in love with Josie, and it hurt not being able to lay in bed all day watching movies with her, but she knew it was for the best. Because in her mind, it was easier to lose Josie now than it would be later in life.

Josie on the other hand didn't know if she would ever be able to get back with Penelope, because Penelope had broken her heart. There was one thing Josie couldn't help, though, she was still deeply in love with Penelope. She tried to bury her love with hatred and disdain towards Penelope, but she didn't know if it was effective. She had no idea how to hate someone that she was in love with; it went against her very nature to do so. That was the thing with Josie, she cared a lot about everyone around her, and Penelope was no exception. Sure, Josie sometimes thought about what it would be like if her and Penelope got together, but she usually shoved those thoughts deep down almost as soon as she thought of them. Those thoughts hurt her more than she would care to admit. It didn't help that Josie had no one to talk to about them, because Lizzie would just go on a tirade about Penelope and somehow make the conversation about herself at some point along the line. So Josie was left to bury her emotions so she could deal with everyone else, all the while trying to avoid one Penelope Park.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Penelope should've known Josie would avoid her for a while after they broke up, but it was still frustrating not to see her. This left Penelope only one option, and that was to interject herself wherever Josie was, and she was able to do that thanks to MG.

"Yeah, I hear she's going to that party tonight," MG told Penelope, reluctant to help her know Josie's whereabouts, but he always thought Penelope and Josie made a cute couple. He knew Josie, or worse Lizzie, would kill him if they found out he was where Penelope got her information, but he just aimed to help anyone in need.

"Thanks MG, you're the best," Penelope smiled up at MG, before adding quietly, "It's just, I just haven't seen her in a while."

MG looked at Penelope, choosing his next words carefully, "You don't have to explain yourself to me Peez, I get it. I'm just not sure how she feels about seeing you, because she has been keeping a low profile."

A strained look passed over Penelope's face as she replied, "I know she is, but she can't avoid me forever. This school isn't big enough for that." She looked away from MG and said, "Well I better get to class. I'll see you later," and with that she started walking away, towards her room instead of her class.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," MG replied even though Penelope had already left in a rush. He shook his head knowing that Penelope was hurting just as much as Josie, if not more, because it seemed as if Penelope was carrying some burden on her shoulders.

Once she got back to her room, Penelope laid down on her bed and sighed. She knew that Josie never went to parties unless she had a reason to, and Penelope had no idea what Josie's reason was. Deep down she feared it was because Josie was moving on, and she wasn't sure if she could handle that fact. But she also knew that she couldn't be with Josie currently, at least in her mind, because she was afraid of what the future would hold for Josie.

She deeply regretted ever answering her parents' question about what coven Josie belonged to. Penelope had known something was wrong as soon as she had seen the looks on their faces at the information they had just learned. At first they refused to tell her anything, but after much pleading, her parents had eventually told her of the curse of the Gemini coven, and how twins of that coven eventually merge on their twenty-second birthday. When her parents had told her that, Penelope was completely stunned, and felt like her world had just been taken away, because she saw how Josie would always put Lizzie first, so she knew that Lizzie would be the one to survive the Merge. Which is exactly why Penelope found herself breaking up with Josie shortly after learning of the Merge; she hadn't told Josie about it, because she believed that Josie's parents would tell her and Lizzie. Since that day, however, Penelope had been dedicating herself to hours upon hours of research on the Merge. She was trying to find some form of loophole so that the Merge wouldn't take place, and then she could explain to Josie why she did everything that she did.

Quietly reflecting on these memories, Penelope got off of her bed and walked over to her desk and sat down, so that she could continue reading her current book on the Merge. She had had a hard time finding any books, but thanks to Hope, she managed to get her hands on them. Sure, Hope had asked what the books were for---and why they were hurting Penelope's education---but she always understood when Penelope told her it was a secret. Pushing aside all these thoughts, Penelope started to read, picking up where she left off.

\-------------------A Few Hours Later--------------------

Penelope startled awake when she heard a knock on her door. "Shit," Penelope swore under her breath, having no idea how long she had been asleep. She stumbled over to her door and opened it to reveal Hope standing there.

"Penelope! Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were asleep, but I need to talk to you," Hope said, before Penelope had a chance to greet her.

"What is it you want to talk about?" Penelope questioned. Her and Hope only ever talked when Hope had a new book to give her, so she had no idea why Hope was here now, and she was still groggy from sleep.

Hope frowned before saying, "My aunt asked me why I was looking into the Merge so much, and when I said it was for a friend she asked if I knew what is was," Hope paused, gauging Penelope's reaction before deciding to continue, "She told me what it was Penelope. And I feel like, as Josie's ex, you shouldn't be as concerned about it as you are. So answer me one thing Penelope, is it why you broke up with her?" She watched as Penelope's usual tough façade shattered and her greatest fear take over.

Penelope was desperately trying to compose herself, but she just couldn't do it. She could feel the tears starting to form, and she could feel that aching, burning feeling start in the back of her throat. All she could do was nod in response to Hope's question, and she was surprised when Hope wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"That means you still love her, considering you're leading a one-woman research team to find a loophole. There's just one thing I'm not one hundred percent sure on, and that's why you broke up with Josie over this. I have an idea that it's because you're scared of losing her years down the line, but it doesn't make sense, because now you lost her even sooner," Hope said, all the while still embracing Penelope in hug.

Finally regaining some of her composure, Penelope shakily replied, "I did it because I was afraid of losing her, and it's easier to cope with that fact while she's still alive, than when she could potentially be dead." She glanced out into the hallway, and saw none other than Josie watching what was happening. Penelope quickly pulled out of the hug, but when she looked back out into the hall, Josie was gone. She wiped at her eyes and then retreated further into her room.

Hope looked at her confused and began to ask, "Are you o-"

"I saw Josie. It just threw me for a loop," Penelope quickly cut Hope off from finishing her question. Penelope turned toward her closet saying, "I need to get ready for that party tonight, Josie is going."

"I'll take that as you kicking me out," Hope laughed, before adding in a serious time, "And hey, I'm more than willing to help you with your research. You shouldn't have to do it alone." Before she could give Penelope a chance to respond, she walked away, back to her room where she would be staying in order to avoid the party.

Penelope took a deep breath, and then started looking in her closet for an outfit. It took her a while, but she eventually found an outfit, got ready, and started walking to the party. She managed to dodge all the other witches while she was walking, and she was thankful, because she was still contemplating her conversation with Hope.

"Hey Peez! O wasn't sure if you would make it," MG announced once Penelope got to the Old Mill. In all honesty, he thought Penelope would bail on the party, because she hadn't been to a party since her and Josie had broken up.

Penelope rolled her eyes at MG, "Of course I'm here. You know exactly why too." She started trailing over towards the drinks table, and was hoping MG would follow her. Luckily for her, he did.

MG started walking after Penelope as he replied, "I know, but I still thought you would ditch. No offense though."

"None taken. I know I haven't been to one of these in a while, I get it," Penelope said, getting a drink and turning back to look at MG.

"Well, I'll leave you to catching up with all of your witch friends," MG replied sarcastically, before walking away to talk to someone else who had just arrived.

Penelope quickly found herself surrounded by witches, who would not quit talking. Penelope went through the motions of talking to them; she really didn't like talking to them that much, they only ever tried to hook up with her. Even though she had told them all no multiple times, they still flocked around Penelope anywhere they could at the Salvatore School. Penelope had no idea how much time had gone by, when she looked to her left and found herself making direct eye contact with Josie. That was the thing about her and Josie, they could always find each other in a crowd. She had no idea how long her and Josie maintained eye contact, before Josie looked away, and she found herself being dragged away somewhere by some of the witches. The whole rest of the night, Penelope found herself going through the motions as she thought about Josie---that is, until events took a hot turn.

It was about half an hour since the party had dispersed, and Penelope found herself talking to some people, underneath one of the few lights outside, when she saw Josie out of the corner of her eye. She could tell from where she was that Josie was pissed about something, and she realized who Josie's anger was aimed towards when one of the witches she was talking to freaked out saying that Penelope was on fire. Everyone around her helped her to quickly put out the fire, and when she looked back to where she had seen Josie, the girl was gone. Shaking off everyone's questions, Penelope managed to get away from them and back in the school. She stood outside the Josie and Lizzie's room, debating if she should confront Josie about the fire, but decided against it. Instead, she headed to her own room, where she set to work fixing her hair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically Josie being a mess, and trying to piece stuff together in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with the second chapter of this tale. This one is from Josie's perspective, so it's a good way to see what's going on with her. Plus, we see the first Josie and Lizzie interaction, which was fun for me to write, and I'm sure you'll see why

Josie had no idea what had possessed her to set Penelope on fire last night. In reality she knew, but she didn't want to accept the reason as to why. She was jealous, and she knew she had no right to be, but after seeing Hope and Penelope together earlier in the day, she had been mad since. The alcohol she had consumed didn't help matters either, in fact it only enforced Josie's pyromaniac ways. As it was now, she was hiding out in a secluded part of the library attempting to wrap her mind around what she had done. It was in that exact spot that she fell asleep, while feeling guilty for what she had done. 

When Josie woke up, she knew she was in her bed, but then as she woke up more, she realized why that was a problem. She had gone to sleep in the library, so how did she end up back in her bed. She tried to think, but she had a killer headache, so all she had were brief moments of time. Josie tried to think harder, and was hit by a flash of memory:

_ Josie was awakened by a familiar voice saying, "Jojo, come on now, you know you can't sleep here. Someone is bound to do something to you." The voice paused, and Josie could hear footsteps walking closer and it was then that she could smell the all too familiar vanilla scent. She could recognize that smell anywhere, it was none other than Penelope. Before she could say anything, Penelope said, "Come on now, let's get you into your own bed." _

_ "Leave me alone Penny. I don't need your help," Josie mumbled out sleepily. She could sense Penelope had crouched in front of her, so she opened her eyes to be met with Penelope's hazel eyes. _

_ Penelope furrowed her brow and then said, "Well, my little pyro, the least you could do is let me make sure you're safe in bed, after you set my hair on fire." _

_ "How did you know it was me?" Josie questioned after she processed what it was Penelope had just said to her.  _

_ "Well for one I saw the pissed look on your face right before it happened, and secondly, you're the only person I know that a fire spell would be their first option," Penelope quickly replied. She went on to hold out her hand and continue saying, "Now come on, let me take you back to your room." _

_ Josie stayed silent and just continued looking at Penelope. It was the first time in a long time that they had been this close, and she noticed just how tired Penelope looked. This deeply worried her, but before she could respond, Penelope was picking her up and was starting to carry her to her room. _

_ "I'm only doing this because otherwise you would've refused to get up," Penelope told Josie. _

_ Josie could feel Penelope's heart rate pick up as soon as she curled into Penelope's body for comfort. It was just a force of habit that she got comfy like that, but it was the first time in a long time that she felt at peace. Penelope had always had that effect on her. All too soon the journey came to an end and Josie was being lowered into her bed, and covered up. _

_ "I don't know if you'll remember any of this in the morning, and I don't know which I would prefer. But I really enjoyed bringing you to your room," Penelope told Josie, while making sure Josie was situated in bed. "Goodnight Jojo," she told Josie as she leaned down and quickly kissed her on the cheek. _

Wait. Penelope Park kissed her goodnight? That made no sense to Josie, and it hurt to try and wrap her mind around, because why would the girl that broke her heart kiss her goodnight? It just didn't make sense, and Josie didn't know how to feel because of it. She didn't have much time to dwell on it, because Lizzie burst into the room.

"Nice to see you've joined the land of the living Jo," Lizzie said when she saw that Josie was awake. She went on to say, "I think things really went well with Rad last night. I definitely made up for my blunder." She walked over to her desk and started rifling through stuff in search of something.

Josie looked at Lizzie, wondering what she was doing, which led her to ask, "What are you looking for?" Josie sat up to see what Lizzie was doing better, and as she did so, her headache only got worse.

Lizzie sighed, unable to find what she was looking for, as she replied, "Just some note someone gave me. I was trying to figure out who gave it to me, but I can't remember where I placed it."

Josie shoved all her thoughts of Penelope out of her head while she offered assistance to her sister. She asked, "What kind of note was it? It must've been pretty special if you're determined to find out who it was from." Josie carefully stood up, trying not to make herself sick, and slowly walked over to where Lizzie was. 

"It was probably just a prank, but it was from someone saying how much they liked me. I know it couldn't have been Raf, but I'm still curious," Lizzie explained. Her eyes might have been set on Raf, but that didn't mean she didn't want to know who her secret admirer was.

"Well, knowing you, it probably fell under your bed," Josie offered as advice, while she motioned towards Lizzie's bed. She watched as Lizzie turned toward her bed and started to look under it. She smiled when Lizzie stood up holding a piece of paper.

"How did you know it was going to be under there?" Lizzie questioned Josie.

"I didn't know. I just know where stuff usually tends to end up," Josie told Lizzie before asking, "Can I look at it? I might know the person's handwriting."

Lizzie nodded and said, "Yeah, sure," as she handed the piece of paper over to Josie who took it.

Once she grabbed the note, Josie quickly unfolded it to reveal a very familiar handwriting, which caused her stomach to drop. This was because if she was right about the handwriting, it meant that she was wrong about something she saw yesterday. And that meant she did something awful for no reason. She was almost one hundred percent certain that the handwriting in the note belonged to Hope. The only reason she knew this was because her and Hope had been partners for a project in one of their classes, and they had shared notes. So with this knowledge, Josie was quickly able to figure out that she had completely misinterpreted the interaction between Hope and Penelope yesterday, and this made her feel awful. It meant that she was going to have to go apologize to Penelope, because of course Penelope had known she had done it. Penelope was the only person who knew that she loved fire.

Lizzie noticed that Josie had seemed to space out a little so she tried to get her attention, "Earth to Josie. Do you know whose handwriting it is or not?"

Josie pulled herself out of her thoughts at Lizzie's question. She knew she had two options: she could tell Lizzie that she knew, making Hope's life a potential nightmare, or she could lie to Lizzie in order to protect Hope. She always wondered if Lizzie liked Hope, because when Josie had lied to Lizzie about Hope spreading rumors, Lizzie had seemed deeply impacted by that fact. At the time, she had just thought that Lizzie was hurt by the content of the rumors, but what if it was the supposed rumor starter that had hurt Lizzie the most. So Josie did what was probably the worst of the two decisions, as she told Lizzie, "It's Hope's handwriting." She watched as a flurry of emotions flashed across her twin's face, and she was sure one of them was happiness, but it was quickly replaced by confusion.

"Hope? You've got to be shitting me Jo! There is no way that Hope wrote that! She spread rumors about me," Lizzie exclaimed to Josie, a million thoughts running through her head. All of them centering around Hope and what this letter meant.

Josie let out a shaky breath as she started to say, "Lizzie, there's something I need to tell you. Hope never spread any rumors about you. I made it up," Josie paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "I made it up because I was scared. Scared that you would somehow win Hope over, especially since I had a dumb childhood crush on her. So in the course of everything that happened, I decided that the only way to succeed was if neither of us were really friends with her." Josie looked down at the ground, waiting for a response, because she wasn't sure if she should say anything else. She glanced up at Lizzie and saw pure anger written across Lizzie's face. Unsure if what to do, Josie reached out towards Josie, but Lizzie stormed out of the room, and left Josie there by herself.

Josie knew there was no way she would be able to stop Lizzie from having her breakdown, so instead, Josie found herself heading towards Hope's room. She was going faster than her stomach liked, but she needed to get to Hope quickly, before Lizzie destroyed everything. Once she got to Hope's door, she knocked on it and yelled, "Hope, I need your help, it's Lizzie!"

As Hope opened her door she asked, "What would Lizzie need me for? Last I checked she hated me." Hope frowned after saying the last sentence. 

"I don't have time to explain. Just know that she knows it was you who left the note, and that I can't be the one to calm her down. I'm the cause of her breakdown," Josie hurriedly said, while looking everywhere but at Hope.

It was like Hope was in a fog as she replied, "She knows? The note I sent, she knows it was from me? But how?"

Josie nervously crossed her arms as she said, "I told her it was from you, because I know your handwriting. And on top of that I told her something I did years ago to make her hate you," she paused realizing time was passing by quickly and she had no idea how extreme things were with Lizzie as she continued saying, "I told her that I was the one to start those rumors about her mental health. And I know you probably have questions, but you really need to find her and calm her down. I think you're the only one who can right now."

A mixture of emotions flashed across Hope's face as she finally accepted what was happening. She started to step out of her room and past Josie when she asked, "She would be in the kitchen, right?"

"Yeah, that's usually where she likes to go in times like these. I appreciate this so much Hope. I'll answer all your questions later," Josie told Hope. She watched as Hope nodded her head and started rapidly heading towards the kitchen. This left Josie standing in front of Hope's room, left alone with her thoughts. Her mind drifted towards Penelope and the events of last night, as she remembered the last part of what had happened with Penelope:

_ As Penelope stood up from kissing Josie on the forehead, Josie reached out and grabbed the girl's arm, saying, "Please don't go Penelope." _

_ A sad look overtook Penelope's face as she said, "I wish I could Jojo, but I can't. Your sister would kill me, plus, I don't want you to say that now while you're inebriated and then regret it in the morning. I can't do that to you." _

_ "Pen, I would never regret spending time with you. Please just stay a few seconds longer," Josie pleaded with Penelope. She watched as Penelope looked down at the ground and let out a nervous sigh. _

_ Penelope responded by saying "I can't. You have no idea how much I want to, but it wouldn't end well. I have to go." With that statement, Penelope carefully grabbed Josie's hand off her arm, and laid it back down on the bed. As she turned to leave she said, "If you remember this conversation, just know you can always talk to me if you need help." And with that, she was gone. _

Josie took a few moments to think through that entire memory trying to understand why everything that happened in it, happened. There was only one thing to do to figure out, and that involved speaking to one Penelope Park. So Josie started walking to a room that she knew all too well, and once she was in front of it, she knocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of the second chapter. I hope you liked it, especially since there's a potential for some Hizzie content. I'm currently writing the next chapter, but it's a mess right now, because I'm having trouble picking a perspective. I intended for it to be through Penelope's, but as of right now it's mostly through Josie's except for a single paragraph, so I need to work on that a little before I get the next chapter published. Any reviews or comments are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some stuff happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I knew how to write chapter summaries, but I think that I will forever lack that talent. I seem to be updated this story every three days somehow??? That probably will not be a forever thing, as I do not think I will be able to maintain that quick of a writing pace as it gets closer to the mid to end of the semester. So in the near future expect updates to be a little more spaced apart.

When Penelope opened her door she was not expecting to see Josie standing there. In fact, she expected it to be Hope, whom would be coming with some form of information, or would be dragging Penelope out of her room to eat. Hope and MG had been the only ones to really check up on Penelope, but Hope was more forceful with her checking up. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she looked at Josie and said, "Hey Jojo. It's been a while since you've knocked on my door."

Josie pushed past Penelope, into the girl's room, and plopped herself down on the bed. Before she could say anything, she looked around Penelope's room and noticed that there were multiple books open, papers taped to the walls, and notes written in Penelope's meticulous handwriting were also taped to the wall. She was just about to question Penelope about it, when Penelope turned around. It was then that Josie noticed that Penelope still looked incredibly exhausted.

When Penelope turned around, she saw Josie looking at everything taped to the walls, and then how Josie looked at her. Penelope went to speak but was cut off by Josie beating her to starting a conversation.

"What are all these papers for?" Josie asked Penelope. She went to get up to look closer at them, but Penelope stopped her from getting near them.

"They're, uh, nothing. Just research for a class. Now, I think there are more important matters than what I'm researching. Like my hair for instance," Penelope quickly retorted to Josie's question.

At the mention of her hair, Josie looked down, unsure of what to say. Rather than answer to about her hair, Josie looked up and asked, "And what about last night in the library and then my room? That's pretty important too." She looked up to see a hardened expression forming on Penelope's face, and she knew, in that moment, that Penelope was putting her walls up.

"It was a lapse in judgement. I was drunk, that's all," Penelope responded in a cold manner. Penelope was burying her feelings, because it was the only thing she knew how to do. In light of things, she realized it was rather ironic that she was trying to act like she had no feelings for Josie, while she was surrounded by her research that she had done in order to try and save Josie.

Josie could see right through Penelope's lie, and she called her out on it, "Bullshit. You forget that I know you, and I know that you don't actually drink at parties. That way you can maintain control of everything that happens around you. Plus, if you were drunk, there is no way you would have been able to carry me to me room." She smirked in victory when she saw Penelope's façade dissipate.

Penelope went and sat in the chair at her desk while she tried to figure out how to get out of this situation. After a moment, she replied, "I may not have been drunk, but it was still a lapse in judgement. I just didn't think you would remember it." She looked everywhere, except at Josie, because she didn't want to see how Josie processed this statement.

"You know, Penelope, I may have been drunk last night, but I know you meant everything that you said," Josie paused knowing pushing Penelope much further would be futile, so she settled for saying, "You said I could always talk to you."

"Well, we are talking, at least I think that's what this is considered, but I'm guessing there's something you want to talk about. Especially since you dodged my statement about my hair," Penelope said to Josie, finally looking back up at Josie, just to see a regretful expression on her face.

Deciding to acknowledge Penelope's second statement about her hair, Josie replied, "I regret setting you on fire, okay? I was just mad at you." Josie shifted nervously on Penelope's bed and her mind flashed back to a memory from when she was dating Penelope:

_ Penelope and Josie were laying in Penelope's bed watching a movie and casually talking. Christmas break was in a few days, and Penelope would be traveling back home to spend the holidays with her family. Josie knew that Penelope would rather spend time with her, in fact Penelope had told her that several times, but Josie stressed to her the importance of spending time with family. She shifted closer to Penelope while they watched the movie, and she glanced up to see a small smile form on Penelope's face at the gesture. _

_ Suddenly, the events of what was happening took a turn as Penelope asked Josie, "Do you think that in order for us to be the heroes of our own story, we have to make other people a villain?" _

_ Josie was stunned by the question, and when she looked up at Penelope, she saw a serious expression on the girl's face. "That's a deep question Penelope. I'm not sure if I have an answer. I think it all depends on perspective," Josie explained to Penelope, not sure if she answered Penelope's question the way she had been hoping. _

_ "Interesting," Penelope replied before she added her own thoughts, "I think the answer is that, yes, people do make people the villain in their story in order to be the hero. Look at failed relationships for example, sometimes both people involved are good people, but when they break up, each person will make the other one to be a villain. That's just my thought." Penelope started to play with Josie's hair out of habit as she waited for Josie to answer her. _

As Josie was thinking about this memory, she realized two things. Number one being that her viewpoint on the question had changed. This was because of realization number two, which was the Josie realized she did the exact thing to Penelope. She made Penelope a villain since their breakup, and Penelope really was no villain.

"Earth to Josie. Are you in there?" Penelope asked Josie, waving one hand in front of Josie's face, as she had gotten out of her chair and walked over to Josie. She continued by asking, "What were you mad at me for? We hadn't talked in weeks, so how could you be mad at me?"

"What? Oh. It was, uh, nothing. Plus if I told you, you probably wouldn't understand," Josie replied, focusing back on her conversation with Penelope. She blinked a few times and focused her gaze on her hands, because she could feel herself getting flustered.

Penelope stared at Josie, taking in her words. While she did this, she sat down on the bed beside Josie, careful not to be too close. She eventually turned her head and said "Try me."

"There's no good way to tell you. I think I made a mistake coming here," Josie stood up to leave, as her nerves were increasing tenfold, and she felt an increasing need to get out of Penelope's room.

Penelope watched as Josie got up and walked towards the door before she said anything. "Josie, I don't know what it is you're hiding, but whenever you're ready, I'll be here to listen," Penelope watched as Josie just walked away, before she quietly added, "I'll always be here for you." Sighing, she got up off her bed, closed her door, and settled back in at her desk to continue her research.

Once she was out of Penelope's room, Josie let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She could feel a burning feeling in the back of her throat, along with tears forming in her eyes. She leaned against the wall and wiped at her eyes in an attempt to compose herself, when she heard someone ask her a question.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rafael asked Josie, reaching out to put one of his hands on her shoulder. He was about to go tamper with Dr. Saltzman's car, so he could go with him to find Landon, but it looked like Josie was in need.

Shifting uncomfortably, Josie replied, "Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She glanced up at Rafael and wished he would just go away, because she really didn't know if she could handle any more interaction without breaking down. It didn't help that today was their annual flag football game against Mystic Falls, and she was playing. This was made increasingly worse by the fact that things with her and Lizzie were nuclear at the moment.

Rafael took his hand off her shoulder as he replied, "You don't look fine. Listen, I'm always here if you want to talk. I'm surprisingly really good at it." 

"Thanks Raf. I appreciate it, but I should really get going. I have to get ready for the football game and all," Josie said, starting to walk away. How funny it was to her that less than twenty-four hours ago, she thought maybe she could be with him. Now her head was filled once more with thoughts of Penelope Park. She just couldn't figure out Penelope's caginess about the notes on her wall. They had to be something serious for Penelope to treat them like top secret information.

"Yeah, of course. I have to go do something too. I'll see you around, especially if you need to talk," Raf replied, as he watched Josie walk away a few steps, before he continued his trek to where he was going.

Penelope had heard most of the conversation that had happened between Josie and Rafael, because quite frankly, the school didn't have very thick walls. When Josie had mentioned the football game, she let out a huge sigh, because she had completely forgotten about the game. She had planned to spend most of the day researching, but she now couldn't, considering she had volunteered to assist at the game today. Standing up from her desk, Penelope went over to her closet and proceeded to find her outfit for the day.

While Penelope did that, Josie was walking back to her room, and fortunately ran into no one. She quickly snuck into her room, and set to work getting ready for the game. 

Once Josie had changed, she started putting her hair up into two buns. She had decided a while ago that it would be cool to do so, and looking at her work once she was done, she knew she had made the right decision about them. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, she realized she should probably vacate the room before Lizzie came back to get ready, so she quickly left, and in the hall she ran into Hope.

"Hey Josie, I found Lizzie. Don't worry, everything is as fine as it can be, because I managed to calm her down. She's getting ready for the game in my room actually, but I told her I had to go somewhere with your dad," Hope paused, letting Josie absorb all this before continuing, "She took the news surprisingly well, but considering the circumstances, I can see why. "

Josie nodded at Hope's last statement, before she replied, "Thank you so much Hope. I really owe you one for this." 

Hope smiled, knowing exactly what she was going to ask Josie for, so she said, "You can repay by giving me answers about everything. It seems like you have a lot to share."

"I definitely do. There's especially something I need to tell you about something I did years ago. But that's for a later date," Josie said, knowing in order to reveal one part of the story to Hope, she was going to have to tell it all. "So are you and Lizzie. . .?" Josie asked, trailing off, unsure if she had the right to ask.

"No we aren't. There were more important things to accomplish, like not breaking every plate in the school," Hope joked, before adding, "I really have to go, I'll see you later for that talk." With that, Hope starting briskly walking away, a mixture of many confused emotions.

Josie just stood there while Hope walked away, before she headed to the field, where the game would be starting in forty-five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is already in the works, and is mostly going to be centered around the always fun flag football game. I am sure something exciting will happen during it perhaps, or it will be completely boring depending upon what you define as interesting. Anyways, any comments are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe I just realized that chapter summaries are not required, so I no longer have to look like a fool trying to write one. But there is more important news, Happy Premiere Day for Season 2! I'm debating tweeting while I watch it, but I'm not sure yet, so we shall see. Anyways, on with the chapter

Penelope really never did understand the point of having this flag football game every year. All it did was embarrass them, as they made buffoons of themselves every year in order to let Mystic Falls win. When she arrived at the field, she instantly spotted Josie, and could tell that the girl was lost in thought. Deciding it would be best, Penelope placed plenty of distance between her and Josie. 

"Glad to see you here Peez. It wouldn't be a game without you here," MG said, walking up behind Penelope.

"Oh please, it's not like I do anything. I just sit around provoking people," Penelope scoffed at MG, before glancing over to where Josie was.

MG noticed this, along with Penelope's change in hair and asked, "Did you think a change in hair length would help you out with her?" He smiled at Penelope, because she always found his jokes to be mildly entertaining.

Penelope turned her attention back towards MG, replying, "I didn't, but she sure thought so. She set me on fire last night."

MG couldn't help it as he broke out laughing and managed to say, "There is no way that Josie Saltzman set you on fire. She's too nice for that."

"Well MG, she did, and I'm not that surprised. She always did have a thing for liking fire. It seems to have carried over into her magical abilities as well," Penelope explained to MG, before noticing that Lizzie was approaching the field. "She didn't come with Josie?" Penelope asked MG.

"No. From what I hear, they had some fight this morning, and Lizzie almost destroyed the kitchen again," MG answered Penelope.

Penelope frowned, realizing that Josie must have come to her room after fighting with Lizzie. She turned to MG and said, "I'll be right back," and with that she walked towards where Josie was.

Josie was in the midst of wondering just how mad Lizzie was at her, when she felt someone tap on her shoulder. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Penelope there.

"Before you run away or tell me to leave you alone. Let me say this, I'm sorry for not letting you talk earlier since you wanted to talk. I realize now that I monopolized that conversation, and I'm sorry, because I realize now that you probably had something really important you wanted to talk to me about," Penelope quickly said, before Josie could dismiss her. She looked up at Josie, studying her face for any hint of negative emotion. A smile formed on her face when she saw Josie smile back at her.

Josie couldn't believe Penelope was getting the best of her again, but it made her smile to how much Penelope still cared about her. "Hey, it's all good Penelope. I understand, you had a right to be upset about your hair," Josie answered to Penelope, a smile still on both of their faces. Josie let out a small laugh when she realized she had drifted closer to Penelope and now they were extremely close together.

In an attempt to distract herself from how close together they were, Penelope closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when she opened them, she of course found herself staring up into Josie's brown eyes. It was then that Penelope knew she wouldn't be able to stop anything from happening, so she hoped Josie could express some willpower.

Josie swallowed hard, knowing full well that she couldn't let anything happen, because they were supposed to be broken up and since they had been, they had become enemies in some ways. 

Luckily for both girls, neither one of them had to stop anything from happening, as the referee blew the whistle to signal for captains to come to the field to decide who would get the ball first.

Josie had turned around at the sound of the noise, but once she realized she wasn't need yet, she turned back around to say something to Penelope, but she had disappeared, much like smoke. That was the thing with Penelope, she could appear and disappear as easily as smoke. Josie sighed, knowing it was time for the game, which meant gauging how good of terms she was on with Lizzie.

Penelope had retreated to a different spot on the sidelines once she walked away from Josie. Her mind was in turmoil, thinking about what had just almost happened. In an attempt to draw herself out of her thoughts, she watched as Josie went out towards where Lizzie was with other students on the team. She frowned when she saw that Josie tried to say something to Lizzie, but Lizzie just ignored her. Deep down, Penelope wished she could do something to Lizzie for ignoring Josie, but she couldn't. Especially not now with all the Mystic Falls students around, so she decided to just focus on the game.

It was halfway into the first quarter, and Josie still couldn't get Lizzie to talk to her, Lizzie just acted like she didn't exist. Everyone else on the team noticed this happening, but none of them wanted to bring it up and risk being on Lizzie's bad side. Josie sighed, and resigned herself to the fact that she would have to do something to make it up for Lizzie, or wait until Lizzie decided to talk to her again. Glancing at the scoreboard, Josie saw that they were losing, just like they were supposed to, so she knew her dad would be happy about that fact. Little did she know that this was about to change. 

It stemmed from a series of events in which Dana and her goons started tripping people on Salvatore's team. Of course, the referees did nothing, because Dana and her accomplices made sure to trip people when the referees weren't looking. So during halftime, the Salvatore students were fed up with what Mystic Falls was doing. 

"I can't take this anymore guys. This is ridiculous what they're doing, especially since we're better than them," Kaleb said to everyone as they discussed the game thus far. 

"Well we can't do anything about it. We have to lose," Josie rebuked, hoping to squash whatever idea Kaleb was trying to plant in everyone's head.

Penelope crossed her arms, glanced at Josie, and said, "Actually we can do something about it. No one's here to make sure we lose, so why not try to win? It's annoying watching them blow us out every year. Why not give them a run for their money?" She smiled when Josie rolled her eyes at her.

Lizzie nodded in agreement with what Penelope had said, and added, "That's actually a good idea, Satan. Can't believe I'd ever agree with you, but then again, never thought I would be betrayed by my own sister." Lizzie said the last part and sent a death glare towards Josie, which made everyone else shift uneasily.

Penelope made a huge effort to reign in her anger at Lizzie's statement about Josie, mostly because she was hoping Josie would say or do something. The whole time, Penelope had her attention directed towards Josie.

Most everyone else was glancing back at forth between the twins, curious to know what had gone down between them. MG was the only one to glance in Penelope's direction to catch her staring at Josie. He wondered if he should get her attention to get her to stop, but realized it would only make Penelope's gaze more obvious, so he remained silent.

Josie let out a deep breath, trying to maintain a level head at Lizzie's words. She tried to rationalize that Lizzie was only doing this out of hurt, but the fact that she did it in front of everyone was where Josie was having a hard time controlling her emotions. So for the first time in what she was certain was her whole life, Josie stood up to Lizzie, "I don't know what you want me to say Lizzie. It was an asinine thing for me to do, I'll admit that, but I was young and stupid. Do you really think I didn't feel like shit after I did it? But by that point it was too late, so I'm sorry if a stupid mistake I made years ago messed up your entire life, but there's no way to change it." With that, Josie turned around and stormed off towards the school, leaving behind the football game and all of her teammates' stunned faces. 

Penelope watched Josie walk away, and debated going after her to see if she was okay, when she felt a hand on her arm.

"I know you want to follow her, but if you go right now, it'll be obvious. Give it a few minutes," MG said to Penelope, knowing that Josie's well-being was her main concern.

Penelope frowned and said, "I know you're right MG, but I need to make sure she's okay."

"And you will, just wait a few minutes," MG responded, before walking back onto the field, since the game was starting again.

The next few minutes dragged by for Penelope as she watched Salvatore start to get serious about the football game. Apparently they had not been impacted by the feud going on between Lizzie and Josie. Honestly, Penelope didn't care about the feud too much, but it was impacting Josie, which is what concerned her. She managed to sneak away while Salvatore celebrated scoring a touchdown, and while she did so, she thought of all the places Josie would go when she wanted to be alone.

The first place Penelope checked was Josie's room. She knocked on the door, and when she heard no noise on the other side, moved on to her next guess, the library, where she had found Josie the night before. When she entered the library, she could hear the sound of muffled crying, and knew that Josie had to be somewhere inside. Rather than call out to Josie, Penelope opted for walking towards the source of the sound, which led her to where she had found Josie the night before. Penelope should've know Josie would be in this spot, because this was Josie's favorite spot in the entire library.

Suddenly, Penelope found herself nervous to talk to Josie, which caused her to awkwardly cross her arms and say, "Hey there."

Josie jumped at the sound of the voice, before looking up and seeing Penelope, to which she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Checking to make sure you're okay after all that," Penelope offered as a reason.

Contemplating Penelope's words, Josie angrily replied, "It's your fault it happened in the first place. If you hadn't brought up trying to win the game, then Lizzie never would've said anything to begin with!" Josie buried her face back in her arms when she felt another wave of tears begin to form.

Rather than react out of anger, Penelope sat down next to Josie and replied, "You're right, none of this would've happened if I had stayed quiet. I'm sorry Josie." 

Josie turned her head to look at Penelope, and saw sincerity written all over Penelope's face. She couldn't seem to get herself to stop crying in order to reply to Penelope, and she was surprised when Penelope reached over and started rubbing circles on her back.

"Hey now, everything's going to be alright. You and Lizzie always seem to work stuff out, I'm sure you two will be back on speaking terms before you know it," Penelope reassured Josie. Internally, she wished she could say what she thought of Lizzie, but she knew it would do no good for Josie's mental well-being at the moment, so she refrained.

The fact that Penelope wasn't bashing Lizzie took Josie by surprise, so much so that she questioned it, "You're not going to throw in some dig at Lizzie like you always manage to do?"

Penelope exhaled, thinking about what she wanted to say, and decided to say, "No, I'm not, because sometimes it's better to just appreciate what we have in the world before it's gone and we have no say in it." There was a momentary pause before Penelope added, "A lesson I wish I had learned sooner than yesterday."

It took a moment for the weight of Penelope's to be absorbed by Josie, who just nodded in understanding, before asking, "Not to be intrusive, but who taught you that lesson and why?" When she glanced at Penelope, Josie could see her face falter for a brief second, before her face became guarded.

"Hope and I were talking about something yesterday, and while she didn't exactly say what I said, it's what she meant," Penelope explained, hoping Josie wouldn't push what the conversation with Hope was about.

Josie quelled the anger she felt rising at that comment, because she knew she had no place to be jealous, and even if she did, Hope was into Lizzie. She remained silent, knowing that anything she said would come out in an angry way, and Josie didn't want any more conflict. 

Penelope really didn't know what to say, so she also said nothing. At some point she had stopped tracing circles on Josie's back, and now her arm was just casually draped across Josie's back. Rather than move her arm and call attention to it, Penelope left her arm where it was. She was surprised that after a few minutes, Josie pulled her feet up onto the couch, and leaned into her. Penelope cautiously asked, "Josie?"

"Hm?" was all Josie replied with. In all honesty, Josie didn't know why she leaned around Penelope, it just felt right to her, so she went with it.

"I missed this," Penelope admitted in a quiet whisper.

Josie smiled, knowing that Penelope was letting her guard back down as she replied, "I missed this too." After a beat of silence Josie added, "But this can't happen again." She knew her attempt to establish a boundary would end up going poorly, but the attempt would at least be a good sign.

Penelope swallowed hard, knowing that there was no way to come back from what she was about to tell Josie. Turning her head to give Josie a light kiss on the top of her head, Penelope asked, "Can we go back to my room?" She went on to add, "It deals with those notes you asked me about earlier. I would've told you sooner, but, uh, I was waiting for your dad to tell you. I just can't watch him keep this from you anymore though."

Glancing up at Penelope, Josie asked, "Why can't you just tell me here?"

"Because, Jojo, I need to show you some of the stuff in my room to go along with what I say. I want to warn you, though, what I'm going to tell you, it was a big part of why I broke up with you. I was scared," Penelope admitted to Josie, knowing that it would probably get Josie to agree.

Josie flinched slightly at the mention of their breakup, but ultimately looked at Penelope, and said, "Lead the way."

Standing up, Penelope offered her hand to Josie and asked, "Can we?" 

"Of course," Josie said, as she placed her hand in Penelope's and stood up. It still shocked her how easily her and Penelope's hands fit together, but that was just one of the many things she loved about Penelope.

Neither one said another word as they walked hand in hand back to Penelope's room, where she was somewhat prepared to tell Josie about the Merge. Josie, on the other hand, had no idea just how much Penelope was going to turn her whole world on its head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I going to be cruel and do the next chapter where there is no mention of what conversation Penelope wanted to have with Josie? Quite possibly. Do I know exactly what it is going to entail? Possibly, but there are two strong possibilities that could happen. The next chapter might take a little longer to get out, since I'm debating what to center it around, and I will be away for a little bit over the next few days, so anticipate a greater length than three days


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here I am with the next installment. Here you'll discover that this entire chapter is a collection of Posie flashbacks, considering we all need them right now. But be warned, it's a chronicle of their relationship

_ "Hey there, I'm Josie Saltzman and I'll be showing you around today," Josie said, extending her hand out to the new witch.  _

_ "And I'm Penelope Park," Penelope replied, taking Josie's hand and shaking it. She noted how soft the girl's hands were, but she shoved that idea out of her head.  _

_ Once they shook hands, Josie turned to walk down the hall while saying, "First I'll take you to your room, and then I can show you the rest of the school." Josie glanced over her shoulder in order to smile at Penelope, hoping it would get her to open up.  _

_ Penelope nodded in approval, and said, "Sounds like a plan," she paused, thinking about how hungry she was, before asking, "After my room, can we get something to eat?" She smiled back at Josie after her request. _

_ "Yeah, of course. There's always time for food," Josie replied, arriving at the door that was to be Penelope's. "Now, you don't have a roommate, so you're the only one in this room," Josie explained to Penelope. _

_ "Sweet! That means I can have all the girls over. Maybe you'll even be one," Penelope joked with Josie, before walking into her room. _

_ \--------------------------------------------------------------- _

_ "Now Josie, I'm going to show you my favorite movie from when I was a kid and you have to promise not to laugh," Penelope explained to Josie. She was holding the VHS tape behind her back, and was ready to show it off to Josie. _

_ Josie rolled her eyes saying, "I promise I won't laugh. In sure it's an amazing movie." She shifted on Penelope's bread in order to get more comfortable. Ever since Penelope had moved to the school, it was the first time Josie felt seen by someone. It was like what she thought mattered to Penelope, so Josie found herself hanging out with Penelope more and more. _

_ Penelope sighed in relief as she pulled the movie out from behind her back, "'Once Upon A Forest,' is a truly amazing work of art, and I hope you love it just as much as I do," she stated, putting the VHS tapes into the player. Once she did, she grabbed the remote, and went and plopped down on her bed, beside Josie.  _

_ "I'm sure it is amazing. Every movie you show me is," Josie reassured Penelope, bumping into Penelope with her shoulder while doing so. She started laughing when Penelope hit her with her shoulder back, which caused Penelope to start laughing too. _

_ The two witches settled into comfortable silence once the movie started. Throughout the course of the movie, the two slowly got closer, to the point where Penelope laid her head down on Josie in order to watch the movie. Deep down Penelope knew she was catching feelings for Josie, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. So she settled internally for the option that they were two really good friends that didn't understand personal space. They both had this insane need to be touching when they were together, but both refused to accept what it meant. _

_ At the end of the movie, Josie told Penelope, "And just like always, you showed me an amazing movie. I'll never understand how you have such a broad knowledge of movies." She went on to reluctantly add, "Well I should probably get going for the night." _

_ "Or you could just always stay here overnight," Penelope hopefully suggested.  _

_ "I wish I could, but I promised Lizzie I would help her with something. I'm sure I'll hate whatever it is, but she'll kill me if I don't help," Josie said, sadness laced in her voice. "Maybe tomorrow night?" Josie suggested hopefully. _

_ Penelope smiled up at Josie, "Consider me free anytime for you." _

_ \--------------------------------------------------------------- _

_ Penelope had decided to go to a party at the Old Mill, but she almost had not gone because Josie wasn't. But Josie had assured her it would be fine, and to be safe, which Penelope happily obliged to do. That of course went out the window as soon as she got talked into drinking. Penelope never drank, it just wasn't who she was, but something about this night was different. It could have quite possibly been a direct result of her wanting to drown out her feelings for a certain siphoner, but Penelope never had a clue as to why she drank as much as she did. _

_ Josie had been relaxing in her room, practicing writing songs, when she heard a knock on the door. She got up, and when she opened her door she was met by a heavily intoxicated Penelope. _

_ "Hey JoJo! I figured I'd come see you," Penelope slurred out. _

_ Josie frowned for the briefest of a second, before taking Penelope's hand and saying, "Come on, let's get you to your room." Josie was going to stop her sentence there, but when she saw Penelope was about to ask something, Josie added, "And yes, I'll stay with you tonight." She smiled when she saw the small smile that formed on Penelope's face at that news. Helping a drunk Penelope to bed was quite the adventure that Josie wasn't planning on doing, but it was interesting to say the least. _

_ Once they got to Penelope's room, she opened the door, and went and sat down on her bed. She glanced down at her clothes and saw that she needed pajamas, but when she went to get up to get them, Josie sat her back down and got them for her instead. "Thank you Jojo. I'm sorry I'm like this," Penelope said to Josie, while the two changed into more comfortable clothes for sleeping. _

_ "Hey, it's okay. Stuff happens, I would never hold this against you. You're still the best person I know," Josie stated to Penelope reassuringly.  _

_ "It's not okay though. It never will be," Penelope replied, tears starting to form in her eyes. To hide this, she laid down on her bed and covered herself with blankets. _

_ Josie was intrigued by what Penelope meant, so she asked, "Why isn't it okay?" She turned off the light, and joined Penelope in the bed. She waited for Penelope to reply to her, and after a while she was certain Penelope had fallen asleep, when Penelope finally answered her. _

_ "My dad. He was working the night shift, but was on his way to the hospital, because I had just been rushed there due to pneumonia. It was probably two or three in the morning," Penelope paused, starting to choke on tears, before she was able to continue, "While he was driving, a drunk driver had swerved into his lane and crashed into him. His seatbelt had caught him just right that it cut his artery, and he bled out. I woke up that morning to the news that I would never see him again. I vowed I would never drink alcohol that day, because I never wanted to run that chance of doing something like that to someone." Penelope let out a shaky breath before concluding her story with, "I blamed myself for the longest time, in fact I still do sometimes. I was the reason he was driving to the hospital that night, so I was basically responsible for his death. If I hadn't had pneumonia, then he might still be here." Penelope turned to look over at Josie and could make out the sadness written across her face. _

_ "That's awful Penelope, but you aren't to blame for that. It was the drunk driver's fault. You can't prevent getting sick, but you can prevent driving drunk. I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me about this," Josie said to Penelope, lifting her hand in order to wipe a few off of Penelope's face. _

_ Penelope sighed tiredly, "I wish. . .I wish it was that easy." Before Josie had a chance to reply to her, she had fallen asleep, which left Josie to think about what she had just learned. _

_ Josie sighed, knowing Penelope had just told her a huge secret and probably wouldn't have told her if she hadn't been drunk. Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, Josie played with Penelope's hair for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep herself. _

_ \--------------------------------------------------------------- _

_ It was nearing Halloween, and Penelope and Josie had decided to have a Halloween movie marathon in Penelope's room. They were planning on watching some of the classics and then some personal favorites. In fact they were currently about to start 'Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School,' and of course it was suggested by none other than Josie. _

_ "What do you mean you've never seen this movie?!" Josie exclaimed when Penelope said she had never seen the movie. "Lizzie and I watched this movie all the time growing up," Josie added. _

_ "I just never saw it Jo, and I could see it right now if you would quit chastising me and start the movie," Penelope joked with Josie, motioning towards the laptop for her to start it. _

_ Josie rolled her eyes, but started playing the movie nonetheless. "Well, prepare to watch now," Josie told Penelope as she was laying back down on the bed. She glanced over at Penelope and studied her face as she watched the movie. It amazed Josie just how invested Penelope was in the movie, just because Josie had suggested they watch it together. Josie loved that fact about Penelope, how the witch always took her thoughts seriously and made sure they were heard. Josie knew her feelings for Penelope were intensifying, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. So she just hung out with Penelope as much as she could, hoping it would make her feelings manageable. She would've thought more on this topic, but was pulled out of her thinking by the sound of Penelope's voice. _

_ "You know, if you take a picture, it'll last longer," Penelope said to Josie, not taking her eyes off the laptop screen for a second. _

_ Josie could feel her face blushing at Penelope's comment, so she quickly hid her face in her arms. She cursed herself for zoning out while looking at Penelope, but there was nothing she could do about it now, so she made up some lame excuse, "I'm sorry, I was just looking at how much you seemed to be enjoying the movie." _

_ "I'm just messing with you Jojo, you don't have to apologize," Penelope told Josie, turning her head to look at Josie. She figured Josie was hiding her face because she was blushing; Penelope had seen how some of her comments had affected Josie over the past few weeks, but she was still too scared to act upon her mutual feelings. She reached out and gently placed a hand on Josie's shoulder, saying, "If you hide your face, then you won't be able to see the movie." She smiled when Josie lifted her face up, but it faltered ever so slightly when she Josie was making her worried pouty face. She quickly glanced at Josie's mouth, before looking back up and making eye contact with her. Penelope could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she tried to stutter out a sentence, "We, we should uh, should really get back to uhhh, watching the movie." _

_ Josie's face fell at Penelope's statement, because she had noticed Penelope's glance. She didn't know what it meant, so she was waiting to see if Penelope did anything. When she didn't answer Penelope right away, she saw the girl glance down at her mouth again, but still did nothing. Josie knew she wouldn't be able to deal with Penelope doing that again, so she did something she never thought she would have the nerve to. She started to lean in towards Penelope, and silently cheered when Penelope also started leaning forward. When their faces were just inches apart, Josie reached up and put her hand on Penelope's cheek, bringing her closer and closing the distance until the two of them were kissing. Josie was hit by so many feelings at what was happening, and they were all amazing. _

_ Penelope was shocked that Josie made the first move, but once she did, Penelope was ready for whatever was going to happen. Her heart nearly beat itself out of her chest when Josie put her hand on her cheek and pulled her into a kiss. Penelope kissed her back no questions asked, and when the kiss ended, both girls out their foreheads together and just stared at each other wondering what this meant for them. _

_ \--------------------------------------------------------------- _

_ Penelope and Josie had been together for a little over a year when her mom finally asked her what coven Josie belonged to.  _

_ Penelope had gone home to celebrate her mom's birthday, and they were in the middle of eating dinner when her mom asked, "So this Josie, do you know what coven she belongs to?" _

_ "Yeah, she's a part of the Gemini coven," Penelopee answered, thinking nothing of it. She looked up at everyone when no one answered her. It was her stepdad who finally broke the silence. _

_ "And you've said she has a twin sister, right?" He asked Penelope. _

_ "Yeah she has a twin sister, Lizzie who is a major thorn in my side sometimes. What does that have to do with Josie's coven though?" Penelope answered her parents, and threw a question right back at them. She looked from her mom to her stepdad as the two of them shared a look with one another. Penelope knew in that instant that whatever it was they knew wasn't going to be good news.  _

_ Penelope's mom knew that she would have to tell Penelope what it is she knew, or else her daughter would refuse to let it go. She started out by saying, "There's a curse on the Gemini coven that affects twins. When twins of the Gemini coven turn twenty-two they undergo what is called the Merge," she paused to gather herself, knowing she was about to destroy her daughter's world, but Penelope needed to know. After a moment, she continued, "What happens is that in order to pick the next leader of their coven, whichever twin is stronger, they will absorb their twin's power, thus killing them. What I'm telling you, sweetie, is that Josie might not love past her twenty-second birthday." She looked at her daughter and waited for a response, if any. _

_ Penelope's brain was in denial of what her mom had just told her. There was no way that it could be true, but Penelope knew her mom wouldn't just make something like this up. She couldn't think of anything to say back to her mom, she was too busy thinking about what was more than likely going to happen. She saw the way Josie constantly put Lizzie's needs before her own, and how sometimes Josie wasn't able to hang out with her, because she was caring for Lizzie in some way or another. Penelope knew that there was no way Josie would survive the Merge. That is, unless Penelope could change that fact. Penelope reasoned that Josie stood a chance if she learned to put herself first, instead of falling further down the rabbit hole that is codependency. As much as Penelope hated to accept this fact, she knew she had to break up with Josie. _

_ \--------------------------------------------------------------- _

_ It had been a week since Penelope learned about the Merge, and since then she had slowly been withdrawing from Josie. It broke her heart every single time Josie asked if everything was okay, because Penelope knew it wasn't her place to tell Josie about the Merge. That was all on Dr. Saltzman, and Penelope didn't want to interfere with his decision about not telling Josie and Lizzie, even though she disagreed with the fact that he hadn't.  _

_ Josie was currently on her way to Penelope's room. Over the past week, she had noticed that Penelope had seemed off, so she was on her way to ask Penelope if she wanted to watch a movie or something. Josie had no idea what was really wrong with Penelope, but she hoped she would at least be able to make her girlfriend feel better. Once she got to Penelope's door, she knocked since Penelope had no idea she was coming. When the door opened, she came face to face with an exhausted looking Penelope, who looked like she hadn't slept in forever. She quickly asked, "Are you okay Pen?" _

_ Penelope swallowed hard at Josie's question, knowing that she should accomplish what it is she needed to do. She answered Josie by saying, "I'm far from okay Josie, we need to talk." She stepped aside in order to allow Josie to come in, before closing the door. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Josie and stated, "I can't stand how you let Josie treat you. It's like you just let her walk all over you. And then you cancel plans with me, because one little thing didn't go her way. It makes no sense to me Josie, none at all." _

_ Josie was not expecting this attack, but she quickly interrupted Penelope by saying, "She's my sister Penelope, I have to be there for her." _

_ "And what about me? Huh? Lizzie is always your number one priority Josie. I can't take it anymore. At first I was okay with it, because I didn't think it was going to be a forever thing, but I was obviously wrong. I've thought about this for a long time Josie and I-" Penelope was about to say what it was she needed, when Josie interrupted her again, realizing what was happening. _

_ "Don't do this Penelope. Whatever it was you were going to say, just don't. I'm sorry that I haven't been the best girlfriend, but you are the most important person in my life," Josie pleaded with Penelope, hoping she could stop Penelope from breaking up with her. She could begin to feel tears forming, and she had a burning pain in the back of her throat as she tried to not cry. _

_ "Josie I have to do this, there's no other way. We're over. This is the way things have to be, I'm sorry," Penelope said, fighting off tears of her own. She knew she had to stay cold, otherwise Josie would stop her from going through with this. She painfully watched as Josie's face fell at her words, and she swore she could feel Josie's heart shatter, or maybe it was her own. "You should probably go," Penelope quietly said to Josie, in the best attempt she could to remain neutral. _

_ Josie focused on her breathing, trying not to completely lose it in front of Penelope. As she went to leave, she stopped in front of Penelope and said, "I hate you," before walking towards the door. As she was opening it, Penelope answered her. _

_ "I know," was all Penelope said as Josie opened her door and left, slamming the door as she went.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know that doesn't necessarily end happily, but it did chronicle their relationship. The next chapter will go back to the main story. I just thought I would keep you all in suspense a little longer though as to what happens. Come hate me on Twitter @ConstantMess12


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know how I'm managing to write chapters this fast, but I guess everyone wins, considering I'm feeding you—and myself—with Posie content. Well, hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

Penelope and Josie arrived at Penelope's room, and when they did, Penelope took a deep breath, before opening her door. Once in her room, she led Josie to the bed and motioned for her to sit. Releasing Josie's hand, Penelope walked towards her desk and started sorting through everything on her desk to find something she wanted to show Josie. 

"So what exactly is it you're going to tell me?" Josie questioned Penelope, since she had noticed how tense Penelope seemed. She continued on with, "I only ask because it seems like you need a boost to start your conversation."

Penelope turned around to face Josie holding a book Hope had stolen from Dr Saltzman's office for her. "I don't know if there's necessarily a good place to start, so I'll start where it began for me," Penelope started to say before continuing, "About a week before we broke up, I went home to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. Her and my stepdad started asking really specific questions about you, your coven, and if you had a twin. It was then that my mom told me about this curse of the Gemini coven." At this point, Penelope went and handed Josie the book she had been holding, before sitting on the bed and continuing, "She told me about this thing called the Merge, and how it'll happen to you and Lizzie on your twenty-second birthday. She told me it was how your coven chooses its next leader, the stronger of the two twins will absorb the power of the other twin, until that twin dies." Penelope closed her eyes to hold back tears before she added, "So, I broke up with you. I told myself, and you, that it was because I couldn't stand watching you always put Lizzie first," Penelope paused before quietly saying, "But I really did it because I was scared. Scared of what everything I had learned, meant." She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Josie in order to see how Josie was taking everything.

Josie was stunned by what Penelope had just told her, because it was a lot to take in. She finally managed to ask, "Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Turning to look at Penelope, Josie could see just how hard Penelope was trying to refrain from crying, and she also noticed how Penelope flinched just a little at the question. Josie also noticed that Penelope wasn't putting any walls up, she was being genuinely truthful to her for what felt like the first time in a long time. Sure there was last night, but Josie was also intoxicated, so this was the first time Penelope was being genuinely honest to her while she was coherent. 

"I didn't tell you, because I thought your father would have told you by now, but he's obviously not going to. And I can't keep hiding this from you," Penelope explained, before continuing, "I wish I never had hidden it from you." She sighed, knowing there was still so much she had to explain.

Josie looked straight at Penelope and said, "You're right, you never should've kept this from me." Josie could feel anger rising in her chest, and she knew none of it was directed towards Penelope, but yet Josie could feel herself starting to take it out on Penelope. In an attempt to diffuse her anger, she opened the book Penelope had handed her to discover notes written in the margins. She noticed, however, that they weren't in Penelope's writing, but in her father's. Josie turned her attention back to Penelope and asked, "Where did you get this?"

Penelope exhaled, thinking about where she should start with her answer. Deciding to start with the beginning, she started to say, "Well, when I learned about the Merge, I came back here and started to research it in the library. What I discovered, though, was that every book that was supposed to mention the Merge had the pages talking about the Merge ripped out." Pausing to take a breath, Penelope took a second to gather her thoughts before continuing, "So I reached out to Hope. I figured she would be able to procure something for me, and she did. She told me that she got that book out of your dad's office, and that he was always reading and taking notes in it. That book isn't where my research ends, though, because Hope has been in contact with her aunt, who has nicely been giving me anything she has or discovers about the Merge." 

"Hope had known this whole time?" Josie questioned Penelope, anger filling her voice. She immediately felt guilty when she saw Penelope flinch at her tone, but it was too late to take it back.

"Not really, she never asked me what my research was about, she just knew I needed stuff. In fact, she had no idea what the Merge really was until her aunt informed her very recently," Penelope explained to Josie, hoping that Josie's anger would subside a little. Then again, Penelope reasoned that she deserved it, just because of the way she had handled everything. Penelope looked away from Josie, and absentmindedly said, "Hope's been the only one to make sure I'm eating. She's been watching me hole up in this room just reading everything I have and taking notes. She didn't understand why I was doing it at first, but I think she understood after I explained how I was doing it all because I lo-" Penelope managed to stop herself from admitting why she was doing what she was doing. She could feel her cheeks burning, so she turned away from Josie, so Josie wouldn't see that she was blushing.

Josie didn't know what to say to Penelope; she saw how Penelope looked away when she almost admitted her feelings. This left Josie unsure of what she could say in response. Eventually Josie quietly uttered, "I didn't even notice the shift in your behavior." Josie was currently beating herself for not noticing how Penelope had become a shut-in, all the while thinking about how Penelope almost said something Josie had not heard her say in forever. 

Penelope turned her face back to look and Josie, and could instantly recognize Josie's expression. "I wouldn't have expected you to notice, Jo. I broke up with you, and I know you were trying to avoid me. It's hard to notice a shift in someone's behavior when you're avoiding them for your own good," Penelope offered as an explanation, knowing Josie was fighting with herself internally. She placed her hand reassuringly on top of Josie's as she said, "Don't beat yourself up too badly for this."

As soon as Penelope put her hand on hers, all Josie could think about were the numerous times Penelope had calmed her down after a fallout with Lizzie. One instance in particular came to mind.

_ Josie had knocked on Penelope's door, hoping her girlfriend wasn't asleep yet. She absentmindedly wiped at the tears that were starting to dry on her face while she waited to see if Penelope would open the door. When the door opened, Josie went straight for Penelope, who immediately wrapped her in a hug. _

_ "Hey, what's wrong JoJo?" Penelope asked Josie. _

_ Separating herself from Penelope, Josie looked at her, and told her, "I had a fight with Lizzie. She was going on and on about how you're just going to end up breaking my heart, and I snapped at her. I couldn't handle her bad-mouthing you, because I know you'll never break my heart." A small smile formed on her lips when Penelope took her hand and led her into the room. _

_ "You're welcome to spend the night here, as always. Your favorite set of my pajamas are in the closet," Penelope told Josie, before heading to her bed while Josie changed. _

_ Josie quickly changed, and found herself climbing into Penelope's bed. Turning to face Penelope, Josie asked, "She's not right is she?" Josie knew the question was stupid, but there was just this fear that one day Penelope might not want to be with her anymore. _

_ Penelope cupped Josie's face with one of her hands as she replied, "I would never break your heart Josie Saltzman, because you are my whole world." _

Josie pulled herself out of the memory, although the conversation from it stuck with her. Penelope had broken her heart, but Josie was learning that it wasn't because Penelope didn't want to be with her, it was because Penelope was trying to find a way to give her the world past the age of twenty-two. At this point, she only had anger for one person, and that was her father, who had kept this huge secret from her and Lizzie for their entire lives. 

Realizing that Josie probably wasn't going to answer her anytime soon, Penelope was left with her thoughts and feelings. She was incredibly relieved that she had this weight off her chest, but she was still stick knowing that she had no way around the Merge just yet. Then, there was the ultimate question of how Josie felt about her now, and what would Josie do with all the information she had just learned. She pulled herself out of her thoughts when she heard Josie start telling her something.

"Penelope, I should go. I need to confront my dad about this, and I'm sure he's back by now," Josie said this, then glanced down at the book in her hands and asked, "Can I take this with me when I confront him?"

"Of course you can. It's not really my property to begin with, so of course," Penelope replied to Josie, internally wishing that Josie would just stay put. But she knew Josie needed answers that she couldn't provide, plus Penelope could tell Hope that she told Josie about the Merge. Penelope squeezed Josie's hand, before letting go, and standing up, walking over to her desk to look at something.

Josie stood up and followed after Penelope, looking over her shoulder at everything that was on the desk. She could see Penelope was in the middle of an ancient looking textbook, and there was a notepad beside it filled with carefully written notes. She couldn't wrap her head around how Penelope was doing this all for her. "You'll talk to me about this now, right? I want to be there for you, especially considering this is my life you're trying to save," Josie asked Penelope, knowing that even if Penelope said no, Josie would make sure Penelope included her in the research she had been doing.

"Of course I will. I should've from the beginning," Penelope responded to Josie. Penelope wished she could go back in time and make sure she included Josie from the beginning, because maybe then she would still be with Josie. In fact, she knew they would be, because their love was a once in a lifetime kind of love. 

Josie couldn't help but smile, even though the weight of the conversation was on the topic of something life or death. She found herself walking to the door as she said, "Well that's good. I'll see you soon so we can talk, but for now, I have to go get answers from my dad." And with that Josie opened the door and walked away, closing the door behind her, as she went to hunt down her father on her quest for answers.

Penelope on the other hand, found herself leaving her room as well, so that she could talk to Hope about everything that had just happened. Most importantly, how Josie didn't seem to hate her that much anymore, if she hated her at all to begin with. Penelope counted that as a small win in her textbook, because as of yesterday, Josie avoided her like she had the plague. Sure, the circumstances weren’t good—she still didn’t have a cure for the Merge—but at least there was some form of communication between her and Josie. It gave Penelope hope that maybe her and Josie stood a chance at getting back together, whether it lasted past the age of twenty-two or not. Because Penelope realized something with her conversation with Hope from yesterday, her fear of losing Josie was unfounded, as long as Josie was still living and breathing. Josie was still alive, and Penelope was adamant that it was going to stay like that for a long time, no matter the cost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter of pure Posie interaction, yet again. I guess I'm just making sure you get your fill of it, as next chapter there probably won't be any, since, both Josie and Penelope are on a quest to talk to other people. Guess you'll just have to wait and see how that goes. Come harass me on twitter @ConstantMess12 to make sure I keep writing! (I definitely will be tho)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here I am with the next chapter of this fic that is probably going to be unnecessarily long, but at this point, I think it's going well. If only I learned effective pacing, this is the seventh chapter and we're still within the same two days of the start. Whoops. Anyways, on with the story!

Alaric was just setting his stuff down on his desk when Josie stormed into his office holding a book. A book that he had thought he had well hidden from his daughters. Before he could even say anything, Josie was already speaking.

"How could you hide this from us? This is a matter of life and death for me and Lizzie and you didn't think to tell either one of us?!" Josie's voice slowly became louder as she spoke. She was beyond angry at her father, and she could tell that he knew, based off the look on his face.

Rather than answer his daughter's questions, Alaric deflected by asking, "Where did you get that book? I've been looking for it for weeks, but there's no way anyone could have known about it, because I had it hidden?"

Josie felt her anger become even more extreme at how her father deflected from answering her questions. Her anger was laced through her words as she said, "It shouldn't matter  _ where _ I got the book! It should matter as to why you never told Lizzie and I about the Merge! Unlike you, the person who gave me this book actually cares enough about me to make sure I know that I could die when I turn twenty-two!" Josie knew she was past the point of calming herself down, but she took a deep breath anyways while she waited for her father to say something.

"If you would stop to think about it, Josie, the reason your mom and I didn't tell you was because we do care about you. Our hope was to have a cure for it when we eventually told you, that way it wouldn't be a stressor in your life," Alaric calmly explained to his daughter, knowing that things would only get worse if he got angry. 

"That's a shitty excuse and you know it. Because following that logic, if you never found a cure, you would never have told Lizzie and I about the Merge. One of us just would have died on our twenty-second birthday. And it apparently didn't cross your mind that maybe Lizzie and I would've helped you and Mom look into a cure, because we would've," Josie answered, adding as an afterthought, "At least I would've." Josie's anger had died down some, but she was still furious for how her parents had lied to her for her entire life. 

Alaric sighed before saying, "We did what we thought was right, and I still think that what your mother and I did was right. You aren't ready to know about the Merge yet, but I guess it's too late for that." He walked over towards Josie and held out his hand for the book while asking, "Now I'm gonna ask you one more time, who gave you the book?"

Rather than give her father the book, Josie clutched it even tighter as she replied, "I'm not going to tell you, because they shouldn't have been the one to tell me. They shouldn't have had to have learned about the Merge, then keep it from me while they waited for you to decide to be a good dad and tell me about it, until they decided that they should just tell me." Josie turned and started to leave, realizing she wasn't going to get any more answers out her father; they were just going to go around in circles if they continued arguing. 

Before Josie could leave, Alaric said, "Josette, I will find out who gave you that book, and I will punish them accordingly for stealing from the headmaster."

Josie didn't even hesitate when her father said that, because technically Hope was the one who had stolen the book, and he would never punish Hope for anything. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere in the school, Hope was laying on her bed when she heard a knock on her door. Getting up to answer it, she ran through all the possibilities of who it could be. When Hope opened the door to reveal a rather stressed out Penelope, she really wasn't surprised. Deciding to cut to the chase, she asked, "What seems to be the problem Penelope?"

"Well, before I answer that, can I come in? I have a lot to tell you," Penelope said to Hope. When Hope stepped aside to let her in, Penelope walked in and sat down on a chair it Hope's room. She nervously messed with her hands as she said, "I told Josie about the Merge." 

Hope was taken aback by the news as she closed her door and went to sit in her bed. She looked at Penelope, and finally asked, "How did she take it?"

A bitter laugh escaped Penelope as she answered, "As good as a person can when they learn that their own twin might one day kill them when they turn twenty-two." Penelope sighed when she looked up and saw the look on Hope's face, so she clarified by saying, "She was angry—not at me though—at her dad. In fact, that's probably where she is now. She went to confront him."

"Well he's going to just love that," Hope remarked, thinking about how the conversation would go down between Josie and her father. She went on to ask Penelope, "And how are you taking this?" Hope knew that Penelope was probably burying her feelings deep inside of her, and Hope just couldn't sit around and watch it happen.

"I'll be honest with you, not very well," Penelope started off saying, and then added, "I almost told her I loved her though. A part of me wishes I had." Penelope shut her eyes, pondering how events could've played out, had she told Josie. Penelope almost laughed, because she could still remember the first time she had told Josie that she loved her.

_ "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Josie asked Penelope. She had no idea where Penelope was taking her, all she knew was that it was a surprise, and they were currently walking through the woods, but they were approaching the edge of the woods. _

_ "Yes, I'm sure it's a good idea. In fact it's an excellent idea. Now come on," Penelope told Josie, all the while making sure her and Josie wouldn't get separated. She did this, by holding onto Josie's hand, which she would've done regardless of where they were going. She smiled, thinking about how Josie had no idea what was in store for her. As they exited the woods, Penelope led Josie to where she had a blanket laid out on the grass earlier in the day.  _

_ Not giving Penelope a chance to say what was happening, Josie asked, "What's this for?" _

_ "Well, a few weeks ago you made the comment about how you wanted to stargaze, and that there would be a meteor shower soon. So, I took it upon myself to figure out when it was, and here we are now," Penelope explained to Josie, a smile starting to form as she looked at Josie's expression. _

_ "No one has ever done anything like this for me before. It's honestly so thoughtful, I can't believe you remembered," Josie murmured, extremely shocked at what Penelope had done for her.  _

_ Penelope shifted closer to Josie and moved her hands so that one was on each side of Josie's face so that she could say, "Of course I remembered. How could I not remember something the girl I love said?" Penelope closed her eyes for a few seconds realizing those words just left her mouth, but they were true, so Penelope resolutely said, "I love you Jojo." She looked at Josie's face to see how she was reacting, and she could tell Josie was at a loss for words. Eventually, though, Josie did manage to respond. _

_ "I love you too," Josie said, leaning down to kiss Penelope. _

Hope noticed that Penelope had drifted off into a moment of reflection, so she waited until it looked like Penelope was paying attention again before she said, "You can always tell her another time, and you should. You two had, and still have, something that is hard to come across in life." Hope quietly reflected on what she had just said, while she waited for Penelope to say something in response.

"I don't know if I could do that, Hope. What if she doesn't say it back? I wouldn't be able to handle it," Penelope said, thinking about everything that was happening. Turning serious for a moment, Penelope asked, "Do you think we'll find a cure for the Merge?"

Hope was taken aback by the question, because of how much her impact could impact Penelope. So she decided on a middle route by saying, "I have no clue, we'll just have to see, but there has to be a loophole. There's always a loophole." 

Penelope nodded in understanding with what Hope had said, glad that she had a positive outlook on finding a cure. "I should probably go. You probably want to rest, seeing as you just got back from some random adventure with Dr. Saltzman," Penelope said, standing up to leave.

"Can you actually stay for a little bit? I need your input on what I should do in terms of my love life," Hope told Penelope, which got Penelope's attention.

Penelope wondered who Hope would need help winning over, because as far as she knew, Hope didn't like anyone. So, she asked, "Who am I helping you with?"

Hope hesitated, knowing Penelope might be reluctant, but she eventually said, "It's Lizzie Saltzman. . ."

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Josie had gone straight to her room after leaving her dad's office, and when she entered, discovered that Lizzie also happened to be in there. Knowing she couldn't leave, Josie quickly walked over to her bed and sat down, hoping Lizzie would ignore her. Much to her dismay, Lizzie didn't ignore her for long.

"So where did you go this afternoon? She who shall not be named also went MIA shortly after you do too," Lizzie said, trying to see what kind of reaction she could get out of Josie. She didn't know if there was any correlation between Josie leaving and then Penelope, but she was determined to find out.

Looking over at Lizzie, Josie carefully replied, trying to keep all anger out if her voice as she said, "I just went to the library after our quarrel. I have no idea why Penelope left." Josie turned her attention to the book that she was still holding, knowing she should read it.

Lizzie frowned, noticing the book Josie was holding. Trying to continue conversation with her twin, Lizzie asked, "What's that book for?" 

"I think that that is a question best saved to ask Dad. He's not pleased I have this book and that I know what it's about, but I'm sure he'll tell you since I know," Josie curtly responded, realizing there was no way Lizzie was going to let silence go on between them.

"Well Dad is out with Hope, trying to find Landon or something dumb, so I can't really go ask him," Lizzie said, not knowing that their father was already back.

Josie sighed before saying, "He's already back. I just came back from confronting him in his office about the details of this book." She knew Lizzie was just going to ask more questions, so she turned so her whole body was facing Lizzie.

Lizzie frowned, trying to keep her upset feelings hidden as she asked, "Why can't you just tell me what's in the book? How bad could it possibly be?"

Josie nervously bit her lip as she thought of her response, which was, "Because it's not my place to tell you! It wasn't Penelope place to tell me either, but Dad was never going to tell us!" She looked down at her hands when she realized she mention Penelope and cursed under her breath. Lizzie was going to be furious at her, and Josie really didn't have the energy to fight with her sister.

Taking a moment to process what Josie just said, Lizzie realized her twin had lied to her about not knowing why Penelope left the football game. Trying not to respond with anger, Lizzie thought back to how Hope calmed her down earlier, and Lizzie found herself doing what she had earlier. She eventually said, "Well, I guess you do know where Penelope was, with you. I don't get why you had to lie about that, but what I really don't get is what Penelope Park knew that we didn't. She must think she's really something, being able to know something that's important."

  
  


"You have no idea what Penelope's been through, Lizzie! And of course I lied to you about knowing where she was. You give me shit anytime I bring her up in conversation, so I just didn't feel like dealing with what you had to say if I saw her in person," Josie paused to take a deep breath, realizing she got worked up when Lizzie bashed Penelope, but she kept going by saying, "I wish Penelope didn't have to know what she does. Not because of jealous of her knowing it, but because it impacted her in so many negative ways! She broke up with me because of it, and she just couldn't stand to keep it from me anymore." Josie managed to get her anger under control before she said anything else. She could tell she was verging on the edge of starting to cry out of anger, so she was thankful when Lizzie answered her angrily.

"Maybe my opinion would be different if you told me what the fuck it was that Penelope told you! Instead, you just keep referencing it, and I have no idea what it is," Lizzie practically screamed back. Both of their tempers were extremely high, which is what led to Josie saying what she did next.

Josie wasn't thinking at this point, which is what caused her to scream back, "You really want to know so badly? I'll tell you what it is! One of us is probably going to die on our twenty-second birthday at the hands of the other. That's the only reason I lost the most amazing relationship with some I still deeply love!"

Both girls jumped when they heard their bedroom door open, revealing their father who was staring at Josie, hearing what his daughter had just said. He started to say something, but was cut off by Josie.

"I don't want to hear it Dad. Maybe if you had told us about this years ago, this wouldn't be happening right now," Josie said at her father, getting out of her bed, and pushing past him as she left the room, leaving behind a stunned Lizzie with their angry father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I had a different ending to this chapter, but after several rewrites, this is what I decided on. But the ultimate question is how Penelope will react to Hope liking Lizzie, but you'll just have to wait and see. I should have a lot of free time over the weekend to work on the next chapter, because I will be on fall break, so there should be an update soon. Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here I am with a quick update! I hope you guys like it!

A few days had gone by, and Penelope had yet to be able to talk to Josie. In fact, from what she had learned from Hope, no one had really seen Josie. There was one thing that Penelope knew Josie needed, and that was space. Space to process what had been revealed. At the moment, Penelope was walking with MG to get lunch. He had insisted that she leave her room, even though he really didn't know why she stayed in her room. "I really don't know why you insisted on dragging me out of my room for lunch. I eat, don't worry," Penelope told MG, crossing her arms while they walked. 

"And I believe you, but you spend every moment you can in your room. You're only attending all your classes now, because Dr Saltzman is tracking your attendance. I'm just worried about you Peez," MG sincerely told Penelope, because he was worried about his friend. He knew that she was going through something and it definitely involved Josie, but he knew it wasn't his place to pry.

"Listen, MG, I appreciate you caring about me, but I have a lot of research to do," Penelope told MG, before continuing, "And a lot of homework I need to catch up on. I really can't afford to be away from my room." By this point, Penelope and MG were getting what they wanted for lunch, and were looking for a place to sit.

MG motioned towards a table as he said, "All I'm asking is for you to at least have lunch not in your room." As he sat down, he added, "You just need to take some time to de-stress yourself. Possibly even worry about a girl that isn't Josie." He knew he made a mistake as soon as he saw the surprised anger look that was on Penelope's face. He tried to apologize but Penelope was already saying something to him.

"MG, I wish I could tell you what I knew, but I can't. And because I still very much have feelings for Josie, of course I'm going to worry about her since this thing involves her. Can we just drop this? You have me here, let's talk about something fun," Penelope said to MG, hoping he would gladly accept the change in conversation, which he did. For the rest of the time they had lunch, the two talked about a multitude of things, none of them involving Josie. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Josie knew she had been avoiding everyone for days, but she genuinely didn't want to talk to anyone. Luckily, she had been able to stay in her room, because Lizzie had gone off to Hope's room the past few nights. That's where the problem started, Josie needed to talk to Hope, but she had no idea if Lizzie would be there. As it was right now, Josie was on her way to Hope's room, because she knew she couldn't put of the conversation any longer. When she got in front of Hope's door, she took a deep breath before knocking. She exhaled once the door opened to reveal Hope.

"Hey Josie, I wasn't expecting you. Come on in," Hope said in greeting to Josie. 

Josie stepped into Hope's room as she said, "I figured, especially with everything going on, but I did tell you we would talk. And that I had something to tell you." Josie turned to face Hope, internally praying Hope wouldn't be too mad at her. 

Closing her door, Hope replied, "That you did say. I was just giving you a little space, what with learning about the Merge, and since Lizzie has been here since then." Noticing the pained look in Josie's face, she asked, "At you okay?"

"The definition of okay is objective, so that's up to your own opinion. It's just that what I have to tell you is another reason why Lizzie hated you for all those years," Josie admitted, refusing to make eye contact with Hope.

"Well, do share then," Hope said to Josie, walking over to her bed in order to sit, thus, leaving Josie standing. She figured that she was in for a story of some sort, and her sitting might make it better for Josie, who was standing there, awkwardly crossing her arms.

Taking a deep breath, Josie said, "Lizzie always blamed you for ruining our spring break years ago because of the fire that was in your room. She was certain that you set it as a form of sabotage on our trip." Knowing Hope was going to interject, Josie quickly said, "And yes I know you didn't set it," she paused, knowing what she was about to say, "I know this because I was the one who set the fire in your room." 

Hope sat there, just staring at Josie while she processed what she just learned before asking, "Why would you do that?" Hope's voice almost cracked when she asked that, because she lost some of her most important things in that fire, which she made note of by saying, "I lost one of my paintings in that fire. It was the last one I ever did with my dad. I was devastated afterwards." She quickly dabbed at her eyes, because she could feel tears starting to form, but she had to keep it together so she could hear Josie's answer.

"Earlier in the day I had slipped a note under your door. A note I immediately regretted putting under there as soon as I did. So, I thought I could just destroy the note with a fire spell. It turns out, I didn't have control of it and it spread. I had no idea about your painting Hope, I am so sorry. I never meant for it to happen," Josie explained to Hope, careful to leave out what was in the note. 

Hope noticed right away that Josie dodged saying what was in the note, which immediately piqued her interest. Whatever it was, Josie didn't want to say it, but Hope felt she deserved answers, which is why she questioned it by asking, "What was in the note Josie?" 

Josie looked down at the ground when Hope asked her that question, but she knew she had to answer. "The note was about how I had a crush on you," Josie admitted, still refusing to look at Hope.

"You had a crush on me?" Hope asked, completely dumbfounded at Josie's confession.

"Of course I did, who wouldn't?" Josie said before adding, "But then, no offense, Penelope came to the school, and I got over my crush on you, because I fell in love with Penelope." Josie sighed, realizing she should really talk to Penelope before she thought Josie had forgotten about her. Knowing that she still had more to tell Hope, Josie said, "I also have to tell you why I told you Lizzie you spread rumors about her, when you really didn't."

"Don't you think Lizzie should be here for that explanation as well?" Hope asked Josie, knowing the twins had to make up at some point in time.

Josie knew Hope was right about Lizzie also needing to be present for that explanation, so she nodded in response to Hope before asking her, "Do you know when Lizzie will be back to your room?" She wanted to get everything off her chest as soon as possible, especially now that she was sharing all the bad things she had done.

"I was honestly expecting her to be back by now. She said she was just going to go grab some-" Hope was cut off by the sound of her door opening, revealing Lizzie who was looking directly at Josie.

"What is she doing here, Hope?" Lizzie immediately questioned, her voice full of pained emotion.

Before Hope could say anything, Josie piped up with, "I'm here so I can explain why I did those bad things a few years ago. And to hopefully make up with you, or at least begin to."

Deciding not to intervene in what was happening between the two twins, Hope sat there in silence while she waited for Lizzie to respond. She of course slid over s little to make room for Lizzie on the bed when the blonde started walking towards the bed.

"And why is it that you did what you did?" Lizzie asked, while she situated herself beside Hope on the bed. Lizzie refused to acknowledge Josie's comment about reconciling, because she was still hurting over what Josie had said.

Josie for the first time, glanced at Hope, before stating, "I just got done telling Hope that I was the one who set the fire in her room after I slid a note under her door that told her about my crush on her." Josie paused, preparing to explain her next action as she said, "As for why I told you that she started spreading rumors about you. I acted out of a dark and fearful place because I knew that anytime I tried to go for someone, either you would go after them, or they would go after you instead of me. So when you asked me why I was so obsessed with Hope, I panicked and said I wasn't. And my reason was a made-up lie that she was spreading rumors about you. I know what I did was beyond stupid, and I regret it so much, but there's nothing I can do now except tell the truth."

Hope reached for Lizzie's hand, and squeezed her hand in reassurance, because she knew Lizzie was probably feeling a lot of emotions right now. In order to give Lizzie time to properly formulate what she wanted to say, Hope looked at Josie and said, "Thank you for being honest with us Josie. I know it probably wasn't easy, especially considering how it affected our relationships with one another, but we're working on fixing them."

Lizzie looked at Hope, wondering how she could be so calm learning all this stuff Josie has done. She had no idea that beneath the surface, Hope was ready to lose it. She was only putting on a calm demeanor to keep Lizzie calm, and it was working. "Jo, don't get me wrong, what you did was messed up, and it hurt us all in some way, but people make mistakes in life. It just happens sometimes," Lizzie said to Josie. 

"You guys aren't mad at me?" Josie cautiously asked, unsure of how to take the calm responses she had gotten to her explanation.

"Oh, we are definitely mad at you," Hope and Lizzie said in unison. Both girls looked at each other immediately afterwards, amazed that they managed to say the same thing at the same time. 

Turning her attention back to her sister, Lizzie said, "A part of this is my fault too, Josie. I shouldn't have made it so you felt that by liking Hope, it was a bad thing. And I'm sorry that I went after everyone you liked, although I guess it is kind of true." Lizzie shot a quick glance over at Hope, who was still holding her hand.

Josie offered a small smile at what Lizzie said before she joked, "I guess both things happened with you and Hope. You went after her, and she went after you. It only took a few extra years because of my stupidity." Looking at how Hope and Lizzie were sitting Josie asked, "So are you two dating or no?"

Hope and Lizzie both looked at each other, unsure of what to say. They really hadn't made anything official, but they also had talked about how they both had strong feelings for each other. Plus, Lizzie had been sleeping in bed with Hope while she roomed in the tribid's room, and they were closer than friends would be when sharing a bed. 

It was Hope who finally spoke up and said, "We're still working on figuring all that out at the moment. There's a lot of stuff involved that we both need to talk over." Hope squeezed Lizzie's hand again, hoping she said the right thing. She knew she had when Lizzie looked over at her and smiled to let her know everything was okay. 

Josie nodded and turned to leave, saying, "I should probably go. I need to go talk to Penelope since I haven't in a few days. She probably thinks I'm avoiding her again." She turned the door handle, and started to leave, but not before turning her head and saying, "I'll see you two at some point later." And with that, Josie was on her way to talk to Penelope.

Hope and Lizzie were left in a room where nervousness filled the atmosphere. Neither girl was sure what to do, because they were both thinking about what Josie had asked them. They both wanted to be in a relationship, but each one feared that the other would say no. Even though, they were both deeply aware of how the other one felt. 

Deciding she couldn't take the silence anymore, Lizzie looked at Hope and said, "Hope? I think we really need to talk."

"Or we could avoid the topic altogether," Hope responded, raising an eyebrow as she said it. 

Lizzie looked up at the ceiling trying not to think about Hope had been implying as she replied, "I think you want to hear what I have to say, Hope. I wanted to ask you a question," Lizzie paused realizing there was no going back now, as she finally asked, "Would you be willing to go on a date with me and be girlfriend?"

Hope blinked a few times, convinced she was sleeping and that this was all a dream. There was no way that Lizzie Freaking Saltzman was asking her out right now, it had to be a dream. Deciding there was only one way to know for sure, she leaned forward, putting her free hand on Lizzie's cheek as she closed her eyes and kissed the girl she had been in love with for years. She was immediately net by Lizzie kissing her back, and that was when she knew for sure that everything was real. Sure, maybe she just did this as an excuse to kiss Lizzie, but it was worth it in her mind.

Lizzie pulled away long enough to ask Hope, "Is that a yes?" She looked at Hope's face, and then into her eyes, hoping that Hope kissing her was a yes.

"Of course it's a yes you dork," Hope said, before kissing Lizzie again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, no Posie interaction, but how about that Hizzie scene? I do struggle a little bit with writing any form of kissing scene, but I'm hoping to fix that as I write more of them! I hope to start on the next chapter really soon, so I'm sure I'll be updating again shortly! Until next time


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes. It was 3am when I finished this chapter and reviewed it, so it might have a few that I missed. But I'm sure that will be forgivable after reading the chapter :D

Josie knocked on Penelope's door, hoping that Penelope was in her room, since classes were done for the day. She frowned when there was no answer, and she was just about to leave when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey there Josie, admiring my door I see," Penelope said when Josie turned to look at her. She flashed the taller girl her signature smile as she opened the door and walked in. As she set down her textbooks for class, she asked, "What brings you here? I haven't seen you since the other day."

Walking into Penelope's room, Josie closed the door behind her as she refused to look Penelope in the eye. She knew that she shouldn't have avoided Penelope after saying she would talk to her,but she had to face the fact that she did. "Penelope, I wanted to apologize for avoiding you the past few days, I just-" Josie started to say to Penelope, but the girl quickly cut her off.

"You don't have to apologize. I get that you needed space to process everything that happened, and I was more than willing to give you all the space you needed until you were ready to talk," Penelope said, making sure to make her point very clear. She knew Josie would probably beat herself up over continuing to avoid her, but Penelope also knew that Josie liked to be alone in order to process major things in her life. She couldn't stop herself from letting out a small chuckle when she saw the dumbfounded look on Josie's face.

"What's so funny?" Josie asked, her dumbfounded expression changing into her usual pouting face at Penelope's chuckle. She grew even more upset when Penelope laughed again. Josie just couldn't understand what Penelope's deal was.

Penelope moved closer to Josie so that she could make sure the taller girl was looking at her. She did this by gently touching Josie's cheek until Josie finally looked her in the eyes. "You're gonna hate me for this, but it's just that the faces you made were so cute that it was hard not to laugh a little. Especially when you resort to your pouting face. That face, it's an absolute one of a kind face that only you could pull off," Penelope explained, internally praying that Josie wouldn't kill her for what she said. She smiled at Josie when she saw Josie's face start to process exactly what it was Penelope had said.

Josie couldn't believe that even after all this time Penelope could still say something like that and it would throw her for a loop. She just couldn't wrap her head around the hold Penelope had on her, but Josie guessed that that is what love did to you. Not that she was ready to admit her feelings to Penelope or anything, she just made note of this knowledge for herself. After a moment she smiled back at Penelope and said, "I don't hate you Penelope. I don't know if I ever truly could."

"It's a good thing you don't hate me," Penelope paused wanting to say how she felt, but opted for asking, "Is the something you wanted to talk about?" She lowered her hand off of Josie's cheek, and awkwardly started playing with her hands, knowing just how close she had been to potentially messing everything up with Josie.

Josie noticed an immediate shift in Penelope's behavior, and her heart yearned for Penelope to make contact with her again. Josie had forgotten just how much she loved Penelope's gentle and loving touch, it was one of the things Josie loved most about Penelope. Completely ditching the idea of what she wanted to say to Penelope, Josie asked, "Do you have feelings for me?* Josie knew that asking might not get her an answer, but she needed to know how Penelope felt, because she wasn't going to bring her feelings up yet. She tried to read Penelope's expression, but Penelope made sure to turn around so Josie wouldn't see the conflicted emotions running across her face. 

Penelope couldn't believe that this was happening right now. Josie avoided her for days to process everything, and now she was back asking if she had any feelings for her. Penelope was certain that she would never one hundred percent truly understand Josie. So, taking a deep breath, she composed herself, turning back to face Josie, and said, "That's a bold question for you to ask, JoJo. I know how I feel when you look at me, it's like I'm the only person you see, even when we were broken up. I know how you making your cute faces makes me feel, and I definitely know how your laugh makes me feel. I have so many feelings that involve you, almost all of them absolutely amazing, but I don't know how you feel." Penelope figured that by being somewhat vague, he stood a chance at getting Josie to say something monumental first, she just had to hope that Josie would say something.

The smile on Josie's face faltered briefly as Penelope spoke, because Josie could hear the pure emotion in Penelope's voice. But, Josie also knew that Penelope really didn't answer her questions, so she shot back, "You didn't really answer my question."

"Oh, but I did. I said I have a lot of feelings for you. I just don't know how you feel, so I'm refusing to speak mine into existence," Penelope quickly retorted, knowing it was only a matter of time before Josie spoke her feelings. Penelope added in a quiet voice as an afterthought, "I promise to share mine if you share yours."

Josie contemplated what Penelope said, and decided to answer Penelope in the way she had answered Josie. She did so by saying, "I know how you make me feel. I know how you can make me feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I also know how I feel when you make sure my voice is heard, and my needs are met. But I also know how you make me feel when you do something drastic out of fear. Even then, I've come to realize, you did that out of love, and I know how that makes me feel. I know that you want me to share my feelings, but I'm also scared of what can happen when I voice them." Josie broke eye contact with Penelope, knowing that she couldn't look into her eyes right now, or else she would break.

"Well how about this instead? I count down from three, and then we both say how we feel. That way no one is pressured to go first," Penelope offered as a solution. 

Josie nodded in agreement with what Penelope suggested, and she said, "That sounds good to me." Josie scanned Penelope's face for any indication about how she felt about the idea, but could find nothing.

"Here goes nothing," Penelope said before starting to count down, "Three...two...one."

"I still love you Penelope," Josie's voice rang out.

"I almost said this the other day, but I love you Jojo," Penelope said at the same time Josie was speaking.

Neither girl said anything as they processed both what they had just said, and what each other had said. Neither one knew what to do with the knowledge they had just learned either. They ultimately just stared at each other for a few minutes, neither one saying anything. They were just basking in the knowledge that they both loved each other.

It was Josie who broke the silence by asking, "So what do we do now? We know how we feel, but there's no clear cut path on what we should do." Josie shifted uneasily, shifting closer to Penelope as she did so.

"I think that we should do whatever is best for us. The unfortunate news is, I have no idea what that would be," Penelope answered, noticing how Josie shifted closer. She studied Josie's face and knew that Josie was struggling with her emotions. Out of habit, she grabbed Josie's hand and gently squeezed them in an attempt to tell Josie everything was going to be just fine. "How about we sit and talk?" Penelope suggested to Josie, knowing they would probably talk more if they were sitting.

Josie, for the life of her, couldn't formulate a coherent sentence to say to Penelope, so she just nodded. She started to walk towards Penelope's bed, pulling Penelope along with her. It reminded her of when she would sometimes drag Penelope into bed so they could cuddle and watch movies. Once Josie sat down on the bed, she freed her hands from Penelope's and waited for her to sit down. 

Penelope was just as equally thinking about how Josie used to do this when they were dating, and it truly threw her for a loop. It took her a minute to process that Josie wanted her to sit down beside her, and when she realized, she sat down as close as she could to Josie. Penelope turned so she could face Josie. A nervous smile ghosted Penelope's face as she asked, "Jojo, what do you think we should do?"

There was only one answer that Josie had running through her head, and nothing was stopping her from supplying her answer. She looked into Penelope's eyes as she said, "This." And with that statement, she leaned forward, closing her eyes, as she kissed Penelope.

The last thing Penelope was expecting was for Josie to kiss her, but it was still amazing nonetheless. She found herself kissing Josie back almost immediately, and her one hand found its way to Josie's cheek. For the first time in months, Penelope felt like she was at home and that everything would be okay. She always loved how kissing Josie grounded her and calmed her anxieties. Penelope had kissed numerous people in her life, but Josie Saltzman was the only one that ever made her feel all the emotions she was feeling at the current moment. 

Josie smiled into the kiss as soon as Penelope kissed her back, and everything just felt right. It was like nothing had ever changed between them, the kiss still held the same amount of love that all the prior ones had. All Josie could feel was an immense happiness at the fact that she was kissing Penelope again. She was not at all surprised when Penelope deepened the kiss, because both of their emotions were running high. What she wasn't expecting was when Penelope moved from where she was sitting, so that she was straddling Josie.

Penelope found the position Josie and her were in to be uncomfortable, so she made sure to change that by moving so that she was on top of Josie. She smiled when Josie's hand found their way around her waist, because this was reminiscent of numerous other times they had made out. She pulled away for a moment so she could rest her forehead on Josie's in order to say, "I know I said this already, but I love you."

Josie jokingly rolled her eyes at Penelope's comment before she replied, "Well I love you too Penny." 

There it was, the nickname only Josie was allowed to call her. The one Josie had only used one other time since their break-up. Penelope used her hand to brush some loose strands of hair out of Josie's face as she tilted her head to kiss Josie again. It was all she could do to show how much Josie use of that nickname meant to her. 

It was Josie who pulled away from the kiss this time so that she could say something to Penelope. "I know I'm the one that started that, but I need to know something," Josie paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing, "Do you think that we would work out?"

Penelope blinked a few times, surprised by Josie's question. "Josie, that's a loaded question. I mean, I think we definitely could, no matter how long we have," Penelope stopped, debating if she should go farther, ultimately deciding it would be good to, as she said, "The way you make me feel, no one else could ever give me this feeling, this sense of truly being at home. There are so many different explanations as to why or how soulmates exist, but no matter which version you believe, I truly believe that we are soulmates. We're just soulmates that were dealt an interesting curse."

No words came to Josie as she tried to think of a reply to Penelope. Penelope had never said anything like that to Josie before, and it astounded her just how much Penelope loved her. Josie guessed that that was a good thing, considering she was completely in love with the shorter girl. Josie finally managed to ask, "Does this mean we're a couple again?"

"No, it doesn't," Penelope answered, before quickly adding, "One of us has to ask the other out first, or ask the other one to be their girlfriend." Penelope smiled at Josie, knowing full well that Josie would never be able to ask her, because Josie would overthink her wording of the question, even though she should know the answer. 

Josie was unsure of what to say in response to Penelope, so she just sat there studying Penelope's face. A part of Josie wanted to be the one to ask Penelope the all-important question, but she also knew that Penelope would ask it in an unforgettable way.

"I guess this is up to me to ask," Penelope jokingly said to Josie, before starting her question, "Josette Saltzman, it has been brought to my attention that we are both madly in love with each other, despite our time when we were separated. So that leaves only one question. Would you do me the ultimate honor of being my girlfriend once more?" 

"I would love to, given one tiny agreement. Our first date has to be to be an ice cream joint," Josie replied, genuinely just wanting to see what Penelope's reaction would be to that. 

"You're in luck, I know the best ice cream place in town," Penelope said, fully aware of how much Josie loved ice cream 

Josie put her forehead against Penelope's as she said, "Well then, I guess that makes my answer to your question a definite yes."

All Penelope could do was smile back at the girl she would be willing to give everything up for if it meant her and Josie could have a relationship past the age of twenty-two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've really ended two chapters on happy notes. I can't believe it. There needs to be some angst or something, which I'm sure there will always be time for. I genuinely don't know how long I plan to make this story, it's just kinda flowing, so we'll see how it goes. Also, if you follow me on Twitter, then you might've guessed that a Posie kiss was coming due to my random tweet of writing kissing scenes, but I was genuinely struggling. Anyways, have a good day everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here I am, back with Chapter 10! I would just like to share that I am messing with the timeline of events in this chapter. And when I say that, I mean I altered when something happened on the show. So without further ado, the chapter

Weeks went by, and Josie and Penelope were practically inseparable. Some would say they were making up for lost time for all the time they had been broken up, but anyone who knew about the Merge, knew that it was because they were scared of not not getting all that time together. So they hung out in Penelope's room doing a variety of differing things. Most of the time they either were researching or they were simply just laying on Penelope's bed soaking up each other's presence. 

It was nearing Halloween and Josie was particularly pensive while she was hanging out with Penelope. They were, as per their usual, in Penelope's room; Penelope researching at her desk, while Josie laid on the bed staring at the ceiling. Josie's mind was wandering everywhere, mostly because of the fact that it was October 28th.

Penelope glanced over at Josie, and noticed that she seemed to be in her own world, so she got up and walked over to Josie. She could tell that Josie had no idea she was there, so she leaned over and lightly kissed Josie's forehead, which seemed to bring Josie back to reality. Smiling at Josie, Penelope asked her, "What's occupying your thoughts?"

Josie frowned at Penelope's question, because then that meant that she had no idea what today was. She decided to test her theory by asking, "Do you know what today's date is Penny?"

"I don't, all I know is that Halloween is coming up, so we're somewhere in October," Penelope answered, and then she really thought about it. She closed her eyes in frustration for a few moments before asking, "Is it the twenty-eighth?"

"Yeah, it is. Today would've been our two year anniversary," Josie quietly replied, fearful that she would start crying if she spoke any louder.

Penelope could tell that Josie was about to start crying, so she walked around to the other side of the bed, and sat down beside Josie. She reached out for Josie's hand, and interlaced their fingers as she said, "I'm sorry that I didn't realize what the date was today. I should've known, though, because you've been quietly lately, and I get why. However, in an attempt to make up for my lack of knowing what day it is, I propose that we go get that ice cream I promised you a few weeks ago."

"We'd get in trouble if we left campus on a school night. Especially you since my dad has been watching you closely after the whole Merge thing," Josie replied, sadness laced in her voice, because she really did enjoy ice cream. She also knew she was being sad for no reason, especially considering her and Penelope were back together, but she still couldn't help but feel a little sad about what today was.

"JoJo, I don't care about your dad yelling at me for leaving. What I care about is your happiness, and I know that today isn't necessarily a good day for either one of us, but I want to make it a little better," Penelope explained to Josie, hoping she would agree to ice cream. She smiled when Josie sat up, because that was at least some progress.

Josie couldn't refrain from smiling when Penelope did; she always found Penelope's smile to be incredibly contagious. After a few comfortable moments of silence she replied, "Then I would love to go get ice cream.

"That's awesome news! We should probably start going there now, and don't worry, I know how to get out of here without detection," Penelope said to Josie as she got out of bed. She grabbed her wallet off of her bedside table, before walking over to the other side of the bed, and holding her hand out for Josie. 

Grabbing Penelope's hand, Josie looked up at her and said, "Lead the way." Penelope just smiled at her and pulled her up off of the bed, before they started walking out of Penelope's room.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Elsewhere in the school, Hope and Lizzie were hanging out in the library. They were currently sitting at one of the tables, working on homework. Hope was working on a research paper on the original of spells, and Lizzie was working on some form of history. They weren't really talking as they were invested in their work, but that soon changed.

Lifting her head to look at her girlfriend Hope cautiously asked, "Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if I said I knew the cure for the Merge?"

Lizzie blinked a few times as she tried to process the question, before turning serious and saying, "Well, I would definitely ask you to tell me what it was, and considering you asked that question, it means you do know the cure."

Running a hand through her hair nervously, Hope shakily replied, "I do, but I wish I didn't. I've been debating telling you honestly, but I have to."

"How long have you known?" Lizzie asked, trying to keep her anger in check at the fact that Hope had been keeping this from her. She had noticed that Hope was slightly more distant than usual, but hope had just played it off that she was feeling a little under the weather. Lizzie could scream at how she had failed to see that there was something deeper bothering her girlfriend, because she was supposed to be able to notice when stuff like that was happening. 

"I've known for about a week and a half," Hope quietly said, before continuing, "I was up late one day studying a book my aunt had just given me, when I stumbled across it. I was supposed to give it to Penelope, but I haven't yet, and she keeps bothering me about it." Hope sighed, thinking about everything that was happening, and everything that was probably going to happen. "Look, you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you, but so far there's no other way," Hope too Lizzie as she prepared to tell Lizzie what she had discovered.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

Alaric was in his office when MG came bursting in saying, "Penelope and Josie just left the school grounds." MG genuinely hated that Dr. Saltzman had asked him to watch Lizzie and Josie, but he also didn't want to let him down.

"Do you know where they were going?" Alaric asked MG, while he tried to figure out why the two girls would leave.

Looking at the ground MG replied, "They were going to get ice cream. That's what I got out of the conversation as they were leaving." The eavesdropping was another thing he really hated doing, but he had promised Dr. Saltzman that he would make sure they weren't going to do something dangerous.

Alaric nodded as MG spoke, knowing that Penelope and Josie had frequently gone on ice cream dates when they had dated the first time. "Thank you for telling me this, MG, I greatly appreciate it," Alaric told the young vampire, before adding, "I hope I didn't interfere with anything you were doing, and if I did, you can go back to whatever it was."

"I wasn't doing anything," MG admitted, but then went on to say, "But I will be now. I have a report to prepare for next week." With that, MG walked out of Dr. Saltzman's office, and into the library, in which he walked into a mess.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

"I still can't believe you like mint chocolate chip ice cream," Josie said to Penelope, then proceeded to make a gagging expression as Penelope continued to eat her ice cream.

Eating the ice cream that was already on her spoon, Penelope looked up at Josie and asked, "What's so bad about mint chocolate chip?"

Josie just stared at Penelope for a second before incredulously saying, "It tastes like toothpaste that's been mixed with chocolate. That's why it's bad."

Penelope rolled her eyes at Josie's answer, because she knew that Josie had never even tried the ice cream flavor. "Well, JoJo, maybe if you tried it one time, you would like it," Penelope told Josie, smirking at her. 

"I don't need to try it to know that it tastes horrible," Josie countered before eating a spoonful of the ice cream in her dish.

"You get the same thing every time though! Twist ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. You've never tried to branch out into different flavors," Penelope exclaimed, a challenging look in her eye. Her and Josie always had this fight when they would get ice cream, but for the first time Penelope had countered so that Josie could beat her.

Josie hesitated at what Penelope had said, because she knew right away there was a double standard. "You never get anything besides mint chocolate chip, so you're one to talk," Josie stated to Penelope, a smile forming on her face. 

"I propose that next time we get ice cream, we switch our orders. That way we can both say we tried different flavors, and then you can see that im right about mint chocolate chip," Penelope offered as a possibility. She had a feeling Josie wouldn't say no, because Josie was always ready for ice cream.

"Consider it a date," Josie said, her smile growing bigger, causing her nose to scrunch a little.

Penelope let out a quiet chuckle before glancing up at the clock on the wall. "We should probably get back before someone wonders where we are," Penelope said as she stood up. She reached out for Josie's hand when the taller girl stood up and quickly interlaced their fingers before they both started walking towards the exit. They threw away their dishes as they went, and continued on back to the school, completely worry free as they went.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

"Should I go get Dr Saltzman?" MG quickly asked when he saw that Lizzie looked visibly upset and Hope was trying to comfort her.

At the same time both girls exclaimed, "No!" It was Hope who went on to say, "It's just that Lizzie and I are dealing with something, but if you could find Josie and Penelope, that would be amazing." Hope blinked a few times trying to hold back tears as she thought about what she had told Lizzie. She frowned when she looked and saw the look on MG's face.

MG awkwardly coughed before revealing, "Penelope and Josie went out to get ice cream. And unlike Penelope, I don't know all the sure-fire ways to sneak off campus."

Hope sighed, and glanced back at Lizzie, who was a lot calmer than she had been a few minutes ago. Turning her attention back to MG, Hope asked, "When they come back, can you tell them to meet us in here?"

"Of course," MG replied, and left to keep a lookout for Penelope and Josie after Hope thanked him. He wasn't on the lookout for very long when he heard Penelope's voice, causing him to rush towards where she was.

Neither Penelope nor Josie were expecting MG to come hurrying towards them, but it was Josie who managed to ask, "Is everything alright?"

MG shook his head as he explained, "I don't think so. Lizzie and Hope are in the library, and Lizzie looked really upset when I had left to wait for you guys. Hope told me to tell you that they would be in the library." He looked on in confusion when Penelope and Josie shared a knowing look, before they started hurrying towards the library.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

"Finally! You guys are here," Hope exclaimed when she saw Penelope and Josie walking towards her and Lizzie. She went on to say, "There's something I need to tell you two. I should've told all of you days ago, but I didn't. I just think I had to accept it first."

Lizzie in a glum voice asked, "Well how would you expect me to take it?" 

Lizzie's dismal attitude was very apparent to both Penelope and Josie, and they both had so many questions about what had happened. Both girls sat down at the table Lizzie and Hope were at while they gathered their thoughts. It was Penelope who finally managed to break the silence by asking, "What is it you need to tell us?" There was only one thing Penelope knew it could be about, and whatever it was had to be serious.

"I found a way to stop the Merge," Hope revealed before adding, "A way that doesn't require one of you to become a Heretic." Hope stopped to take a deep breath, but before she continued speaking, Josie had interrupted with a question of her own.

"You've known for days a way to stop the Merge, but you didn't tell us?" Josie asked, anger underlying her tone.

Everyone turned to Lizzie who had spoken up by saying, "She had good reason to Jo, just let her talk." Lizzie still wasn't looking at anyone, her attention was focused on her hands, which she was playing with. This was something she always did when she was extremely upset, and Josie spotted it instantly.

"I didn't tell any of you, because it involves me," Hope let out a shaky breath before continuing, "I'm basically the only way to stop the Merge, and it all has to do with Malivore." 

Malivore had been an issue for the Salvatore School ever since Landon had shown up at the school, and it was only recently that the girls had learned of Malivore. That was thanks in large part to the Necromancer which had plagued them two weeks ago. Hope had been the one to learn everything, but she had shared everything with Lizzie, Josie, and Penelope. She was glad she had, because it ended up being important that she had.

Penelope was the first one to ask a question, "And what do all of these things have in common that they stop the Merge?" She turned to look at Josie and could see nothing but concern written all over her girlfriend's face.

"Well, that's where it gets complicated. I found this in that book my aunt just gave me; the one you've been bugging me for for about a week. In it, there was a brief mention of a Gemini witch was the witch that helped create Malivore. That's why there was a curse placed upon the Gemini coven. It has something to do with Malivore," Hope stopped for a moment, letting everything sink in, before she continued, "But from what I read, the only way to lift the curse is to destroy Malivore. And the only way to destroy Malivore is with me." Hope looked up at the ceiling of the library, trying to keep her emotions in check.

In a very quiet voice, it was Josie who asked, "And how do you destroy Malivore?" She noticed Hope and Lizzie wince at the question, but it was Lizzie who ultimately answered.

"By becoming a full tribid, and throwing herself into Malivore of course! Therefore wiping her from all of our memories," Lizzie explained, the pain obvious in her voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to share with you all that the way to stop the Merge, it came to me at like 1 in the morning yesterday, but I think I have a good handle on how it's going to play out. And hopefully this chapter supplied the much needed angst. I had been giving too much fluff. Anyways, I'll try to update as soon as I can!
> 
> Come deal with me on Twitter @posieclown


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot that goes down in this chapter. I apologize in advance for any mistakes in this chapter, it's almost 4am and I just finished typing it and reviewing it. So, I am sure there are things I missed

“There is no way in Hell you’re doing this, Hope,” was Penelope’s first reaction, followed by, “I won’t let you do this. There has to be some other way.” Penelope wanted to save both Josie and Lizzie desperately, but not at the cost of her best friend. She didn’t let many people in, and to lose one of those people would have a detrimental effect on her mental health.

Josie quickly followed Penelope’s reaction with, “We still have time to find another way, so don’t go full superhero on us Hope.” Unfortunately, Josie had a sinking feeling in her stomach that what Hope had discovered would be the only way, 

Hope stayed silent while Josie and Penelope tried to tell her there was another way, but she knew there wasn’t. They had all gone through practically every single thing on the topic of the Gemini coven and the Merge. There was no other option, no matter how much they insisted there was. She eventually said, “I know you guys don’t want to accept it yet, but it is the only way. And I would like to believe that if we found each other once, then we can find each other again.” When she saw that Lizzie was starting to cry, she placed her hand on top of hers and gently squeezed it in reassurance. She hated the idea as much as the rest of them, but she knew what had to be done.

“My father won’t let this happen,” Josie said in a feeble attempt to deter Hope from deciding to go through with the plan.

“Which is why he isn’t going to know about it,” Hope began before continuing, “And look at it this way, if I destroy Malivore, it also means the monsters stop coming after us. The positives outweigh the negatives in this scenario.” Hope paused to think about what she wanted to say next which was, “Malivore may wipe me from all of your memories, but I will be back once it’s destroyed. I’ll just have to work myself back into your hearts when I do return. Just like I already have. All I ask is that you erase any mention of me from all over the school before I do this.”

“But how do you know you’ll come back?” Lizzie asked in a shaky voice. She was trying to hold her herself together, but the reality of losing Hope so soon after they finally accepted their feelings for one another was devastating. 

Before Hope could answer Lizzie’s question, Penelope also asked her own question, “How do you expect us to erase every single trace of you in this school?” 

“I know I will, because once Malivore is destroyed, I’m gonna have to go somewhere, and that somewhere is likely right back here,” Hope said, answering Lizzie’s question before going on to answer Penelope’s with, “I know you Penelope, and I know that you have your ways. As for the belongings in my room, I am sure a certain someone wouldn’t mind setting them on fire.” As soon as she said it, she looked right at Josie, and started laughing when she heard Penelope snicker at the comment.

“She did get you there Jojo,” Penelope said, wrapping her arm around Josie as she did so. Penelope had so many thoughts going through her head, but there was one question she needed to know the answer to. Fortunately for her, Lizzie asked it.

Looking at Hope, Lizzie asked, “How long do we have until you do this?” Lizzie was fully aware she would be the most impacted by this out of everyone in the library, because she would be losing her girlfriend, whereas Josie would still have Penelope. 

“Well, there’s one crucial thing that has to happen before I can go through with this. I have to die so that I can achieve being a full tribrid before I even stand a chance at destroying Malivore and saving you guys,” Hope answered, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, because she knew that this last thing was a rather major thing to request of them. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I need one of you to kill me.”

No one said anything as they let Hope’s words sink in. They all knew that there was no stopping Hope from going through with this. The problem was now who would be the one to actually kill Hope. Lizzie, Josie, and Penelope all glanced at each other, waiting to see who would volunteer themselves.

“I’ll do it. I’m the one who got you involved with this whole situation,” Penelope said, volunteering herself for what was to be done. There was no way she would let Josie do it, and she also knew that if Lizzie did it, it wouldn’t be good. She also knew that as much as Josie would hate that she volunteered herself, she wouldn’t hold it against her. 

“Penelope, you can’t,” Josie tried to argue, but Lizzie interrupted her from continuing.

“Jo, as much as I hate to admit it, she’s just doing what is best for you. Just let her do it,” Lizzie said, her voice containing minimal emotion. Lizzie would almost say she felt numb, because she knew the severity of everything that was going to happen, but she just couldn’t find it in her to be upset anymore. She knew that freaking out would do nothing, so for once she shut down all her emotions. 

Moving so she could take a hold of Josie’s hand, Penelope said, “Lizzie’s right. Let me do this.”

“I don’t like this, but I know I’ll never change your mind,” Josie finally conceded. There was no way she would ever change Penelope’s mind, especially if the girl was doing it to stop Josie from doing so.

Finally deciding to speak again, Hope said, “I appreciate this greatly Penelope.” Hope knew she was asking and expecting a lot, but she knew there could be no loose ends with this whole thing. 

Nodding towards Hope, Penelope went on to ask, “When do you want to do this?” Whatever Hope’s answer was, Penelope would find it too soon.

“Well, we should probably do it sooner rather than later,” Hope said, going on to add, “We can do it tomorrow?” She closed her eyes for a moment in order to think, because she hated that she would be the only one to remember everything that was lost once everything was said and done. When she opened her eyes, she saw Penelope look at her and nod in agreement with what she had said.

\---------------------------------------------------------------

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Josie exclaimed once her and Penelope had gone back to Penelope’s room. She walked back and forth as she tried to process everything that was happening. As it stood, her and Penelope were supposed to start disposing of everything that could be associated with Hope.

Standing to walk over and embrace Josie in a hug, Penelope said, “I know, I can’t believe it either, but there’s nothing we can do.” She stepped back from Penelope and leaned up to kiss Josie on the forehead before saying, “We just have to be there for one another when everything is done. I’d like to think that we can manage that.”

Josie sighs, before turning to face away from Penelope so that she was facing the wall. A wall that was still plastered in Penelope’s notes. Josie sighed before saying, “ _ We _ can definitely manage that, I just don’t know how all of this will affect Lizzie once Hope goes into Malivore.”

“We’ll be there for her no matter what though. We’ll make sure she’s okay,” Penelope said sincerely.

Josie nodded at what Penelope said before changing the topic entirely by asking, “Should we start getting rid of everything we have that is associated with Hope?” She knew the topic change was sudden, but if she hadn’t changed the topic, she feared she would’ve started having a breakdown over what was transpiring.

Studying Josie’s body language, Penelope could see just how tense Penelope was, so she said, “Yeah, we probably should.” 

\-------------------------The Next Day--------------------------

“I can’t believe that Hope and Penelope are in the midst of turning Hope into a vampire as we speak,” Lizzie remarked, unsure of what else to say to her sister. So far, since Hope and Penelope had left to do their thing, Lizzie had been unable to get her sister to say much. The only thing Josie had mentioned was how she needed Lizzie’s belongings that were connected with Hope. It had been difficult, but she had managed to give Josie everything of hers that had some association with Hope. The hardest thing to give up was a picture of her and Hope that they had taken when they were on their first date. Lizzie recalled that Hope had been hesitant to take a picture at first, but she had convinced her that they should have something to remember it by. 

The irony of that argument was definitely not lost on Lizzie given the current circumstances.

When all she got from Josie was just a glance, Lizzie took it upon herself to ask Josie, “Are you electing to be silent for any particular reason or?” Lizzie regretted the question almost as soon as she asked it when she saw the look on Josie’s face.

“What do you want me to say Lizzie? As it is at this exact moment, my girlfriend is in the process of killing yours. Then once Hope comes back, she’s gonna need human blood, and of course Penelope said she would also have that part covered. And for what? To help save us of course. Hope is basically erasing her whole existence from our memory in order to save us, and I don’t know how she has the courage to be able to do that. There is going to quite literally be a hole in all of our lives, and it’ll be because of us. So sorry if I’m not that talkative while all of this is going on,” Josie snapped back at Lizzie, tired of trying to act like everything was okay with her. As soon as she finished her rant to Lizzie, Josie started breaking down for the first time since learning about everything that was happening and going to happen.

Lizzie quickly rushed over to Josie in order to comfort her. For a brief second, Lizzie thought about how it was a nice change that she was comforting Josie for once, instead of Josie comforting her. That thought was short lived as she quickly focused all of her attention on calming Josie down. 

Once Lizzie got Josie calmed down, the next few hours passed by in a semi-comfortable silence. It was as comfortable as can be expected when you know that your whole life is soon going to change. They had no idea when Penelope and Hope would be back, so both girls had drifted off to sleep by the time they came back. However, Josie stirred when she heard the door to the room open, which she knew meant that Penelope and Hope had returned.

Josie groggily asked, “How did it go?” In an attempt to wake herself up more, Josie blinked a couple times and sat up, focusing her gaze on Penelope.

“It went as well as can be expected. We got the job done,” Penelope replied.

Even in her groggy mindset, Josie knew there was something off with the way Penelope answered her question. She couldn’t figure out what it was in that moment, but she decided she should wait until later to ask Penelope about it. 

By this point, Lizzie had woken up, and she hesitantly asked, “Hope, how do you feel?” 

Glancing at Penelope before she answered, Hope said, “I feel fine. Just a little out of it at the moment.”

Lizzie looked over at Josie, and the two girls shared a look that implied that they knew something was up with Hope and Penelope, they just couldn’t figure out what it was at that moment.

Standing up, Josie walked over to Penelope, saying, “I think Penelope and I are going to go to her room for the night. That leaves you two to talk, and possibly prepare yourselves for what’s going to happen in a few days.” Before anyone could object to what she had said, Josie had started walking out of the room, leaving a stunned Penelope to follow after her moments later.

By the time Penelope caught up with Josie, they were at her bedroom door. Penelope was slightly out of breath from practically running to catch up with Josie, which signaled to her that Josie was pissed about something. This caused Penelope to ask, “You already know something’s up, don’t you?”

Not saying anything at first, Josie eventually replied, “Yeah, I do, and I would like to know what happened.” With that, Josie opened Penelope’s door and went inside. As upset as she was with Penelope, she knew that talking in private would definitely be the preferable option as opposed to talking out in the hall.

Following after Josie into the room, Penelope cautioned, “Before I say anything, just know that what happened was an accident, okay?”

“Okay?” Josie answered Penelope apprehensively, unsure of where this conversation was going. By this point, Josie had gotten onto Penelope’s bed and had crawled under the blankets. 

Penelope sighed as she joined Josie in the bed, before saying, “When Hope came back and needed human blood, I was obviously the lucky candidate for that, and well, Hope might have almost killed me.” Penelope said the last part quietly in the hope that it wouldn’t seem as bad as what it was.

Rather than say anything right away, Josie focused on keeping her breathing steady in order to keep her emotions in check. She eventually managed to joke, “She’s lucky she’s not here right now or I would kill her for good this time.” 

Taken aback by Josie’s lack of anger, Penelope uncertainly laughed at the joke Josie had made. Yawning, Penelope managed to get out, “We can talk about this more in the morning if you want, but I’m beat right now.”

“Okay,” Josie answered Penelope, her voice barely louder than a whisper, because her mind had drifted to what if Hope had actually killed Penelope.

Sensing that Josie was in her head about what she had just told her, Penelope said, “I love you Jojo.”

Hearing those words caused a smile to form on Josie’s face as she said, “I love you too.”

\-----------------------A Few Days Later------------------------

Lizzie, Josie, and Penelope were all in Penelope’s room in an attempt to all be together for whenever Hope actually threw herself into Malivore. Hope had left a few hours prior to them gathering, so the only thing the three girls could do was wait for whatever was going to happen. None of them were sure how things would play out once Hope went into Malivore, but they figured if they were together, it wouldn’t be as bad.

“She really is a modern day superhero. God, I love her so much,” Lizzie stated as they were all discussing Hope.

Josie could sense that her twin was hurting, so she said, “And she loves you too,” Josie hesitated before adding, “I’m sure you two will find each other when she comes back.” 

“Thanks Jo, I appreciate it,” Lizzie said, a slight smile forming on her face at the thought. She had yet to really think about what would happen once Hope came back, but the problem was that it wouldn’t be like Hope was returning to Lizzie. It would be as if it was the first time Lizzie had ever met Hope.

“I just hope we managed to get all mementos of her out of the school,” Josie said absentmindedly. She recognized that it was in poor taste as soon as the words were out of her mouth, but she was just really nervous about the whole thing.

Penelope—who had been silent up until this point—said, “Trust me, I’m sure we got everything.” In reality, Penelope knew that they had missed stuff, and she knew that because she had made sure to keep a box of some of the most important of Hope’s belongings. She knew Hope, Josie, and Lizzie would kill her if they knew, but Penelope knew that destroying everything of Hope’s could potentially be worse as opposed to having just a few things.

Josie was in the midst of saying something about Hope, when this wave came over the three girls, and even though they didn’t realize it, Hope had succeeded in her mission. After a few moments, all three girls looked at each other in confusion about what had just happened.

It was Lizzie who broke the silence by asking, “What am I doing in the Dark Lord’s room?” 

Penelope frowned, unsure of what was happening, but she replied, “The so-called ‘Dark Lord’ has a name you know. And to answer your question, I honestly have no idea why you’re in here, I can’t even remember what led to it happening.”

Josie looked from Lizzie to Penelope, confused as well, as she had no idea what she had been in the middle of saying. Eventually, she said, “Something is definitely off if we can’t remember anything, but I guess we can’t really ever know what it is that’s off if we can’t remember it.” When she looked back over at Penelope, she noticed something written on the other girl’s hand, which caused her to motion towards Penelope’s hand.

Not sure why Josie was motioning towards her hand, Penelope looked down at her hand to see the words ‘If you don’t remember writing this, then that means the Merge has been stopped’ written across the back of her hand. Looking back up at the twins, she said, “I think our lack of memory is because we found a way to prevent the Merge from happening,” Penelope paused before finishing with, “At least that’s what the writing on my hand says.”

All three girls shared a confused look about the fact that they had found a way to stop the Merge, because not one of them remembered finding anything of importance that would have stopped it. It was Penelope who asked, “Should we tell your dad?”And in response both Lizzie and Josie nodded at her, causing all three of them to start heading towards Alaric’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the deed has been done. Hope has thrown herself into the depths of Malivore, and now we will just have to see what all the repercussions of that will be. 
> 
> If you want to come yell at me for doing this, you can do so on Twitter @posieclown


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump to Christmas Eve!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there's a time jump which is always fun, but I think it fit the story. Also I'm sorry that this update took so long to get out. I got caught up in schoolwork and wanting to write other things that I neglected this fic for longer than I anticipated.

It was Christmas Eve when Penelope Park was searching through her closet for a gift she had gotten Josie when she stumbled upon a box she had no recollection putting in her closet. She wouldn’t have paid much attention to it, but the box had been well-hidden which only sparked Penelope’s curiosity further. So she pulled the box out of her closet and decided to go through it. What she wasn’t expecting to find were mementos of a girl she had no memories of, and a notebook full of hand-written about the girl in the pictures. 

And suddenly, it was like everything made sense to Penelope. The fact that they somehow knew they had stopped the Merge from ever happening, but they couldn’t remember how they did it; how Lizzie seemed to be struggling with her feelings; how Penelope would find herself standing out of a vacant room as if waiting for someone; how Josie couldn’t seem to help Lizzie; and especially how they all felt as if something—or someone—was missing from all of their lives. Everything that had been going on for the past month finally had a reason for happening, but Penelope still didn’t have memories of it. All she had were belongings of a girl named Hope, and a notebook detailing what had happened. Opening the notebook, Penelope started to read what she had written, completely forgetting what she had originally been doing.

As she read more and more, she began to get an idea of what had happened. The fact that Hope was what helped spark her getting back with Josie. How Josie had had a crush on Hope, and accidentally torched Hope’s room. How Josie had made up that Hope spread rumors about Lizzie so that Lizzie would hate Hope. How Lizzie and Hope had started dating after realizing their feelings for each other, and realizing what Josie had done. How Hope had been the one to supply her with research on the Merge, and how Hope eventually found out what it was and decided to help Penelope. How Hope had found a way to prevent the Merge, and how it would impact her, how it would wipe her from everyone’s memory, but she was willing to do it for those she loved. How Hope had enlisted their help to wipe all traces of her so as to not cause any problems and how Penelope had killed Hope in order to make her a full tribrid. 

Penelope stopped reading for a moment when she read about killing Hope. She had answers, answers about everything, but she had no idea if sharing them would be wise. Lizzie’s mental health was finally just starting to improve, and Penelope didn’t know if she could mess that up. Her and Lizzie were finally on good terms, maybe they would even consider themselves friends, and that’s why Penelope couldn’t share it. She couldn’t even share it with Josie, because then Josie would feel obligated to tell Lizzie, or else it would eat her alive, knowing what had happened and keeping it from Lizzie. Penelope knew she was in a tough position, so she did the only thing she could do, she kept reading.

Penelope was just finishing reading how Hope had left to throw herself into Malivore when her door opened. She quickly closed the notebook, and looked up to see Josie standing in her doorway.

“Hey, are you ready to go to the Christmas party?” Josie asked, before realizing that Penelope was nowhere near ready. She made a mental note of the box Penelope had beside her, along with the notebook, but she decided not to say anything about it.

The Christmas party had completely slipped Penelope’s mind while she had been reading, and to make matters worse, she had forgotten to finish looking for Josie’s present. Refusing to make eye contact with Josie, Penelope said, “Give me twenty minutes and I’ll be ready. There’s nothing better than being fashionably late.” Penelope knew Josie hated being late to stuff, and she felt really bad, but it's not like she could explain why she wasn’t ready. So she settled for the lame excuse of being fashionably late, and got up to get ready, making sure to take the box and notebook with her when she walked towards her closet. As she set the box down onto the floor, and grabbed Josie’s present, she heard Josie sit down on her bed. Turning back around with the gift in hand, she started saying, “I know it’s only Christmas Eve, but I really wanted to give this to you tonight. And yes, I remember that you don’t really like gifts, but that has never stopped me before, so of course I got you something.” With that, Penelope walked over to the bed and handed the gift to Josie.

“I can’t believe you did this. I thought we had agreed on not giving each other presents this year,” Josie stated, as she opened her gift.

“We did,” Penelope admitted before adding, “But then I had this idea, and I just had to go through with it. Penelope sat down beside Josie as she opened her gift, a smile forming on her face as Josie saw what the gift was.

Josie was stunned by what Penelope had gotten her. It was a golden locket, and when she opened it, the picture inside was her favorite one she had taken with Penelope. Although she had never voiced that fact to Penelope, so she had no idea how her girlfriend knew to select that picture. Josie could feel herself tearing up as she looked and Penelope and professed, “This is amazing, Penelope. I love it so much, but more importantly, I love you.” 

“I love you too, Jojo,” Penelope said, adoration in her voice as she smiled at Josie before leaning in and kissing Josie. She smiled even more when Josie kissed her back, because even now, she still got butterflies every time. 

Josie was the first one to pull back as she said, “As much as I love kissing you, we have a party to attend, and if we aren’t there, Lizzie might kill us.” Looking back down at the locket in her hands, Josie started to put it on while Penelope got up to put on her outfit for the party.

Penelope had really only gotten up so that Josie wouldn’t see her expression at the mention of Lizzie. She already felt awful that she had decided to keep her findings from the twins, and knowing she would have to face Lizzie tonight wasn’t sitting right with her, and Penelope knew why. It was because she would be walking in there with the love of her life, while Lizzie sat there having no clue that the love of her life had sacrificed herself for Lizzie. It was becoming incredibly clear to Penelope that she was going to end up teeling Josie about what she had discovered, but she decided to wait until after the party.

Approximately twenty minutes later, Penelope and Josie were walking to the Christmas party where Lizzie was waiting for them. Surprisingly, Penelope noted that Lizzie was talking to Landon, which almost never happened. But Penelope reasoned that Landon always offered good advice, so Lizzie was probably asking for some of his wise words. Getting Josie’s attention, Penelope suggested they go join Lizzie and Landon.

Lizzie happened to look Penelope and Josie’s way as they approached, so she greeted them with, “Hey, look who finally decided to show up!”

Landon glanced nervously from Lizzie to Penelope and Josie, but remained silent, not knowing if it was his place to say anything.

“It was my fault Lizzie,” Penelope admitted before continuing, “I got distracted by something and lost track of time. That is, until Josie showed up and was all ready to go.”

“What was it that you had gotten distracted by anyways, Penelope?” Josie asked, figuring Penelope would say what it was that had been in the box. She realized she was wrong when she saw a look of terror for a brief second, before—for the first time in a long time—Penelope put on her façade of indifference.

“It was nothing, I’ll tell you later,” Penelope explained, hoping that Josie would drop the topic.

“If it was nothing, then why don’t you tell us?” Lizzie questioned, wondering what it was that Penelope seemed to be hiding from them.

Glancing between the three girls one final time, Landon said, “I think I’m gonna go see if I can find Raf. I’ll see you all later.” After saying that, he walked away to avoid whatever it was that was about to blow up between the Saltzman twins and Penelope.

Quickly trying to think of something to say, Penelope settled for, “It’s something personal that is only meant for Josie to hear.” Penelope wasn’t surprised that Lizzie pretended to gag at her words, because Lizzie’s mind instantly went to an inappropriate place with Penelope’s comment, so she warned, “Get your mind out of the gutter, Saltzman.”

“That’s harder than you think, and you know it,” Lizzie fired back before glancing around at everyone at the party, looking for a certain face in the crowd. Not that she knew who she was looking for, she just felt like there should be someone there celebrating with them, she just didn’t know who. 

In all honesty, Lizzie’s mental health was still where it was over a month ago, but she managed to act like she was getting better. It got Josie and Penelope off her back if she did so, because as much as she appreciated the amount they cared, she just couldn’t find solace in their words. It didn’t help that every now and then when she was asleep, she would dream of this girl, and even though she had no idea who the girl was, she seemed so familiar to Lizzie. Deep down Lizzie knew she should’ve told the other two about the girl in her dreams, because she had to mean something, but Lizzie didn’t want to interfere in Josie’s relationship with Penelope and ruin it. Although, since Penelope had gotten back with Josie, Lizzie had somehow managed to strike up a friendship with Penelope, and it actually wasn’t awful. Lizzie kind of liked having Penelope as a friend, even if they still traded light insults from time to time. There were just some things that were always meant to be, and their banter was one of them Lizzie had come to conclude.

Josie blushed at both what Penelope had said, and that what Lizzie had said, because Penelope must have had something good planned if she refused to share what it was she had in mind. And she would be lying if she wasn’t thinking the same thing Lizzie was, but Josie would never admit that fact.

Penelope watched how Lizzie was looking around at everyone at the party, and she had a sinking feeling she knew who the blonde was looking for. In an attempt to get Lizzie focused back on their conversation, Penelope commented, “It’s nice that your dad throws this party every year for the students who can’t go home for the holidays.”

“Yeah, it is. He just wants to make sure everyone has a good time, even without the presence of family,” Josie said in response to Penelope. 

Both girls waited to see if Lizzie would anything, but she didn’t even acknowledge them, before she started walking away from them.

Josie started to go after Lizzie, but Penelope put her hand on Josie’s shoulder to stop her. “Don’t, I think she just needs some time to herself,” Penelope cautioned Josie. 

“How could you possibly know that?” Josie asked, anger hinting in her voice. 

“I don’t know for certain, it’s just a feeling,” Penelope stated, debating on whether to continue and ultimately did by admitting, “It’s part of what I wanted to tell you later.”

Penelope’s words confused Josie which led her to inquire, “I thought you wanted to tell me something personal?”

Sighing and averting eye contact, Penelope replied, “There is something I want to tell you, but can we do it somewhere more private?” She really didn’t feel like sharing her discovery in a room where pretty much everyone could be listening in to their conversation. 

Frowning, Josie realized that whatever Penelope had to tell her was serious as she told her, “Of course. We can go back to your room.”

“Okay,” was all Penelope quietly said in response as she took Josie’s hand in her own, and they started walking back to her room.

The walk back to Penelope’s room passed by in silence, but once they were in Penelope’s room, Josie turned to look at Penelope and asked, “What is it you wanted to tell me? Does it have something to do with that box you had before the party?” There was no malice in Josie’s voice, it was just a question filled with genuine curiosity, because she knew anger would only make this matter worse, especially if it was serious.

“Josie. . .I don’t know how to tell you this, but,” Penelope started out uncertain;y, pausing to take a deep breath before continuing, “What I have to tell you does involve that box. A box that I don’t remember filling and putting in my closet. A box that holds all the answers to our problems, but that never should've existed in the first place. And honestly, I’m beginning to see why.” Penelope stopped for a moment to really think about what she wanted to say, and also as a chance for Josie to say something.

“You’re not making any sense, Penelope,” Josie told her girlfriend, not putting the dots together yet.

Nodding in understanding, Penelope continued speaking, with slightly more certainty in her voice, “That box was filled with pictures and mementos of a girl, along with a notebook filled with my handwriting. Of course I don’t remember writing it, and it’s because it’s all about that girl that’s in the pictures. Her name’s Hope and she threw herself into Malivore in order to save you and Lizzie from having to go through the Merge. Although, I sense it was more for Lizzie, considering they were dating.” 

“Lizzie had a girlfriend?” Josie questioned, having not completely processed everything Penelope had said.

“Yes she did,” Penelope stated matter of factly, walking over to her closet to retrieve the box of stuff while continuing to speak, “And I’m willing to bet that that’s what has been messing with Lizzie for the past month or so. She’s literally missing her other half.” Penelope set the box on her bed and waited for Josie to walk over before pulling out some of the pictures and explaining, “From what I gathered from the notebook, these are either Hope’s favorite pictures with people, they were our favorites with her.”

Everything was starting to make sense in Josie’s mind, and she wasn’t sure she liked what she was realizing a she found herself vocalizing, “We have no way of knowing if she’ll ever come back.”

Penelope nodded in agreement with what Josie had said and quietly added, “I wasn’t planning on telling you about any of this, as shitty as that sounds, but I knew you would struggle about whether or not to tell Lizzie, and I didn’t want to burden you with that.”

“But you would’ve been burdening yourself with keeping it to yourself,” Josie countered to Penelope’s statement. 

“I know that, but I accepted it, because what are we gonna do about Lizzie?” Penelope asked, shifting uneasily, unsure of what to do or say.

“I’m not really sure, but we’ll figure it out,” Josie truthfully admitted before wrapping her arms around Penelope in a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally had an entire different plot for when Josie entered Penelope's room to see if she was ready, but I ultimately rewrote it. I hope you liked how I did end up writing it! Come yell at me on Twitter @posieclown


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas Day, so that means gifts and stuff, which are always fun!

The rest of that night, Penelope and Josie talked about whether or not they were going to tell Lizzie about Hope, and they also talked about Hope in general. At one point Penelope gave Josie the notebook so she could read it in order to gain all the information Penelope had. As Josie read, she would make comments to Penelope about stuff that was written, and then a discussion would occur based off of her comments. They stayed up almost the entire night discussing Hope and what the implications of their newfound knowledge, trying to cover everything they could think of. In the end, they finished talking around four in the morning, coming to the conclusion that they would tell Lizzie, but they would wait a day so as to not ruin Christmas Day for Lizzie. Even if it meant they were miserable all of Christmas, they couldn’t do the same to Lizzie, because she had a deep love for the holiday. It wasn’t until five that they both fell asleep, being kept up by the weight of what they knew.

\--------------------------

Josie was the first one to wake up in the morning when she heard a knock on Penelope’s door. Turning to look at the clock, she groaned, seeing that it was only eight thirty-six. Moving slowly so as to not wake Penelope up, she snuck out of bed and opened the door, revealing Lizzie.

“There you are! Dad and I have been waiting for you for half an hour, so he sent me to find you,” Lizzie loudly announced when she saw Josie.

Glancing back to make sure Penelope was still asleep, Josie quietly replied, “I forgot about breakfast with Dad. I didn’t go to bed until late so I wa-”

“Ew! Please do not inform me about your sex life with Penelope,” Lizzie interjected, her voice filled with disgust due to what she thought Josie was referencing.

“Lizzie, no, it’s not what you’re thinking. We were just,” Josie paused, unsure of what to say before she came up with, “Uh, we were just talking and didn’t realize the time.”

“Okay, sure,” Lizzie said, sounding not convinced before adding “Now that that conversation is over, how about yo get ready so we can meet with Dad.”

“I’ll meet you there. I have to write Penelope a note and then run back to our room for an outfit,” Josie told Lizzie, simply trying to get rid of her sister so that she didn’t reveal what she had been talking to Penelope about last night. Josie made a mental note to tell Penelope that she had had a valid point about wanting to keep the knowledge of Hope hidden from her.

Nodding, Lizzie replied, “Sounds good. Make sure to hurry though.” With that, she turned and walked away, back to where their dad was, leaving behind Josie who let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

Turning back to look at Penelope, Josie closed the door and walked over to the girl’s desk. Grabbing a pen that was on the desk, she looked for a piece of paper to write on. Josie eventually found a pad of sticky notes and wrote about where she was at so that Penelope wouldn’t be confused. Walking back over to the bed, Josie stuck the paper onto Penelope’s nightstand so that the sleeping girl would see it quickly when she finally decided to wake up. Taking one last glance at Penelope, Josie left the room and went to change.

\--------------------------

When Penelope finally woke up a little over an hour after Josie left, she frowned, being able to tell that Josie was no longer in bed. Sitting up, she looked around and saw that Josie wasn’t in her room, but that there was a sticky note stuck to her nightstand. Penelope reached out and grabbed the sticky note and proceeded to read what Josie had written.

_ “I forgot that I had to meet up with Lizzie to go to breakfast with my Dad. I’ll see you later today so we can plan what we’re going to tell Lizzie. Plus, I may or may not have a surprise for you ;)” _

Penelope chuckled at Josie’s use of a winking face, because it was the type of cute shit that Josie always did. But then her mind wandered to what Josie’s surprise could possibly be, especially since Josie had said no presents. Then again, Penelope had broken that rule, so it only made sense that Josie did too. Setting the note back down, Penelope got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

\--------------------------

After leaving Penelope’s room, Josie had gone to her room and changed as quickly as she could, making sure to find an outfit that seemed to fit the holiday. When that was settled, she made her way to the kitchen, where Lizzie and her dad were waiting for her.

“There she is! Merry Christmas Jo,” Alaric said when he spotted Josie, smiling at his daughter.

“It’s about time,” Lizzie commented, her voice full of annoyance at how Josie was late.

Glancing at Lizzie, Alaric cautioned, “Hey now Lizzie. Your sister slept in is all. That happened sometimes. We’re still having our yearly breakfast together, although we still have to make it.” 

Not saying anything, Josie just nodded and walked over to the fridge so she could start getting out the ingredients for the food they usually made.

“I guess you’re right,” Lizzie reluctantly agreed before going to help Josie with getting ingredients.

When they finally gathered everything they needed to make their usual Christmas morning breakfast, they set to cooking. Years ago it had been established that Josie wasn’t allowed to handle any parts of the cooking that used burners, because she couldn’t be trusted with the open flame. So, Alaric had taken that over as his main responsibility, leaving Josie and Lizzie with the other duties that went into their breakfast. Their system of cooking had become incredibly efficient over the years, which allowed for them to get it done as quickly as possible. Each one of them looked forward to cooking this breakfast year after year, because it was the one thing they always did as a family, no matter what. They always made time on Christmas morning to come together and help cook a meal, that over the years had become extremely delicious. A part of Josie wondered if this breakfast was why Lizzie loved Christmas so much, because it was the one time a year where their father actually paid attention to them. Of course Josie shook these thoughts away, because they had just finished cooking and were getting ready to eat.

\--------------------------

Penelope was surprised when she heard a knock on her door, because the only person she was expecting was Josie, and Josie would just walk in without knocking at this point. So, Penelope got up out of her chair and opened her door revealing MG.

“Hey Peez. Merry Christmas! I thought that if you were free, we could hang out,” MG suggested, because if he was being honest, he hadn’t spoken to Penelope in a while, and he felt bad about it.

“Merry Christmas, MG,” Penelope initially replied before continuing, “I can hang out for a bit, but Josie and I are going to do something later today, so I just have to be back for that.” She smiled when MG’s face lit up at her response.

“Awesome! I was thinking we could finally have that rematch of Mario Kart that you promised me a while ago,” MG said, hopeful that he would finally get his chance to prove that he was the better Mario Kart player.

Penelope chuckled, knowing that MG was determined to beat her at least once, “I guess it’s time I am good on my word. You have yourself a rematch.”

MG cheered at Penelope’s statement, “That’s what I’m talking about! Let’s go, so you can finally taste defeat at the hands of a true master.”

Rolling her eyes at MG’s words as he turned around, Penelope followed him to his room, closing her own door as she did so.

The walk to MG’s room didn’t take long, because his room was only down the hall from Penelope’s, so the two were quickly settled in and getting ready to play. MG had already had it set up when he had left his room to ask Penelope, so it was already on the character selection page. He of course chose Yoshi, and Penelope on the other hand chose Toad as hers. These were the characters they always chose when playing the game, and they never deviated from this. As for their carts, Penelope stuck with what she always chose since it’s what always helped her win, but MG changed his up from what it had been the last time they had played.

“I’m positive this is the winning cart this time,” MG proclaimed as they were thinking about what set of tracks they wanted to pick.

“In your dreams Milton,” Penelope confidently replied before suggesting, “How about we do the Star Cup?”

Pondering Penelope’s suggestion for a minute, MG eventually said, “You’re on.”

\--------------------------

“Josie, before we go join Dad to open presents, I have to tell you something,” Lizzie said to Josie after Alaric had left to go gather his presents, leaving his daughters to go get the ones they had purchased for one another as well.

“Yeah? What is it?” Josie questioned as they entered into their room. Walking over to her closet, Josie started moving stuff so she could get her presents out.

Lizzie grabbed her presents out from where she had hidden them before dreamily answering, “Well you know how we got those new twins right before Christmas? I think I really hit it off with them last night, especially Maya. She just seems so genuine and honest, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about last night with her.”

Whatever Josie was moving at that moment, she dropped it when she heard Lizzie’s words. Words that implicated that Lizzie was developing feelings for someone. Someone that wasn’t her girlfriend that had jumped into Malivore. And Josie reasoned that maybe it was good that Lizzie was developing feelings for someone else, because there was no way to know if Hope would ever find her way out of Malivore after destroying it. The issue that arose was that Josie wasn’t sure if her and Penelope should tell Lizzie about Hope anymore, because it would more than likely impact Lizzie’s newfound feelings.

“Are you okay?” Lizzie asked when she heard Josie drop something in her closet. 

“Y-yeah. Everything is all good, this thing just slipped out of my hand,” Josie explained before formulating a response to what Lizzie had said about Maya, “That’s awesome Lizzie. Do you think you like her?” Josie felt as if her question hung heavy in the air, because of what Lizzie’s answer would mean, but she knew that Lizzie had no idea how much her response would mean.

Lizzie took a few seconds to think before ultimately replying, “I think I might, Jo.”

\--------------------------

“I can’t believe you beat me again!” MG exclaimed as he watched a smug smile appear on Penelope’s face. 

“What can I say? I’m just that good that I beat you five times already. I don’t think today is your day,” Penelope gloated, knowing full well that she had almost lost one of the sets they had done.

Setting his controllers down, MG looked at Penelope and said, “It seems it’s never my day when we play. I couldn’t even get a Christmas miracle to help me.”

Laughing at MG’s comment, Penelope suggested, “How about we have a rematch some time? As of right now, I have to go find Josie so her and I can hang out for a little.” Penelope stood up as she waited for MG’s response.

“I’ll accept your promise of a rematch, because I am determined to win next time,” MG confidently stated before also standing up and adding, “And tell Josie I said Merry Christmas.”

“Alright, I will,” Penelope said as she opened the door and walked out so she could find Josie.

\--------------------------

Josie had remained rather quiet the rest of the time she spent with her Lizzie and Alaric. It wasn’t that she had a bad time, it was just that she was troubled with knowing that if her and Penelope told Lizzie about Hope, it could cause a ridiculous amount of issues when it came to Lizzie’s mental health at the moment. Fortunately for Josie, neither Lizzie nor Alaric noticed her shift in attitude, and while Josie was partially hurt that they didn’t notice, she was glad that they didn’t. She wasn’t sure if she would’ve been able to come up with a believable excuse if they had asked her what was wrong. So, the second she got a chance, she left Lizzie and Alaric to go find Penelope. First, she stopped in her own room to get her present for Penelope. Then, she really had no idea where Penelope would be, so she opted for going to Penelope’s room and if Penelope wasn’t in there, she would just chill in there until Penelope did show up.

When she walked into Penelope’s room, she saw that her girlfriend wasn’t in the room, to which Josie frowned at. She was really hoping that Penelope would have already been in there so that they could talk about what they were going to do. Figuring that Penelope would be back soon, Josie went and sat on Penelope’s bed, eventually shifting her position so that she was laying down. Laying there, Josie was overcome by how tired she was, and as much as she tried to fight it, she drifted off to sleep while she waited for Penelope to come back.

Josie eventually woke up to the sound of Penelope humming a Christmas tune to herself. Opening her eyes, Josie saw that Penelope was also reading a book, but that she noticed right away that Josie was awake.

“Hey there Jojo. Nice to see you join the land of the living again,” Penelope joked, closing her book so that she could talk to her girlfriend.

Sitting up on the bed, Josie replied, still half-asleep, “Hey Penelope, I brought your present with me.” Josie blinked and looked towards where she had placed it when she had come into Penelope’s room.

Smiling at how cute Josie was, Penelope asked, “Am I going to have to get it myself?” She waited for the concerned response she would get out of Josie, because Josie always took things too seriously when she first woke up. 

“What? No! I’m getting it for you. I was just seeing if it was where I had left it,” Josie quickly said, before getting up and going to get the gift off the table, before walking back and sitting on the bed, giving the gift to Penelope in the process.

Penelope just chuckled at Josie and looked down at the gift that was in her hands, “I just want you to know Jojo, that you didn’t have to get me a gift, because as cheesy as it sounds, us getting back together was the greatest gift of them all.”

Josie blushed at Penelope’s comment and felt her cheeks heat up as she replied, “Well if I’m being honest, I have another gift for you, it just hasn’t come yet. It was supposed to be here, but issues arose and it got delayed.”

Raising an eyebrow Penelope said, “Oh?” She couldn’t even imagine what the gift she was currently holding was, let alone another gift that seemed to stumble upon unfortunate circumstances.As she waiting for Josie to answer, Penelope starting opening the gift she currently had.

“Yeah, so this gift is essentially a last minute idea, but I know you’ll still love it,” Josie adamantly stated. 

“That statement is still debatable,” Penelope replied as she tore off the rest of the wrapping paper, revealing a box. Looking up at Josie curiously, she turned her attention back to the box and pulled the lid off, revealing what looked like Josie’s ukulele, and a sheet of paper with what looked like notes and lyrics written on it in Josie’s handwriting. Cocking her head to the side, Penelope looked back at Josie and softly asked, “Is this what I think it is?”

“If you’re thinking that I wrote you a song and am going to perform it, then yes, it is what you’re thinking,” Josie joyfully replied. For now she had been able to shove all thoughts of Lizzie and Hope aside, because seeing Penelope happy was what she was mainly focused on right now. That and the fact that she was incredibly nervous to sing the song she had written, because Penelope had only ever heard her sing once, and it had been by mistake. Josie preferred to keep her singing to herself, but it was the only thing she had been able to figure out as a substitute for Penelope’s other present that had gone MIA. Reaching over towards the box, Josie took the sheet of paper out and the ukulele and waited for Penelope to say something before she began.

Penelope was stunned by what Josie’s present was because Josie had always kept her musical talent to herself, but from the one time she had caught Josie singing, Penelope knew she was really good. Finally finding her voice, Penelope managed to say, “I can’t believe you actually wrote a song for me Jojo, but I know I’ll cherish it forever.” Smiling at her girlfriend, Penelope waited for her to start the song.

Taking a deep breath, Josie started to play her ukulele at a slow tempo, and when it came time she started singing. At first, she sang quietly, but as her confidence grew, so did the volume of her voice as she sang the lyrics of her song.

_ I met this girl, yes I met this girl _

_ She came along and saw me for who I am _

_ And somehow even with that knowledge, _

_ She fell in love with me _

_ \--- _

_ There are times she think she’s selfish, _

_ But to me that is a lie _

_ She’s the most selfless person _

_ I think I’ll ever find _

_ \--- _

_ She ended up breaking my heart _

_ So that she could save my life _

_ I thought it was pretty rad, _

_ Of course when I found out _

_ If I’ve learned one thing, _

_ It’s that she has the biggest heart _

_ \--- _

_ There are times she think she’s selfish, _

_ But to me that is a lie _

_ She’s the most selfless person _

_ I think I’ll ever find _

_ \--- _

_ There is a happy ending _

_ Because we got back together _

_ After a lot of explanation _

_ And she did help save my life _

_ I think that’s pretty major _

_ To warrant this short phrase, _

_ I love you with all my heart _

_ Penelope Park _

Josie finished playing the last few notes, and looked expectantly at Penelope to see how she was reacting to the song. Able to make out the look on Penelope’s face, Josie could tell that Penelope was holding back tears, which Josie hoped were from happiness.

“Jojo, that was amazing,” Penelope managed to choke out, letting a few tears fall. Wiping at her eyes she smiled, “I love you too Josie Saltzman. Your song means the world to me.” Shifting closer to Josie on the bed and leaning forward, Penelope lightly kissed Josie before pulling away and leaning her forehead on Josie’s.

Smiling back at Penelope, Josie set her ukulele down beside her and reveled in the closeness to Penelope. Subconsciously biting her lip while she decided what to say, she eventually managed to nervously say, “I’m glad you like it. I was afraid you would hate it.”

Rolling her eyes in amusement at Josie’s fear, Penelope leaned forward slightly and kissed Josie again, bringing her hand up to Josie’s face. This time, Josie kissed her back, causing Penelope to take a sharp intake of breath. Kissing Josie still got her every time, and this time seemed even more intimate than ever before. What caught Penelope off guard was how Josie managed to take control of the kiss, because she very rarely did so. Penelope wasn’t going to complain though, because she didn’t mind when Josie did this. 

After a while, Josie pulled away, breathless, but let out an airy laugh when she saw Penelope frown at the loss of contact. Turning away from Penelope for a moment, Josie grabbed her ukulele and set it on the ground so she could lay back down on Penelope’s bed. As happy as she was, the weight of what she had to tell Penelope was sitting in the back of her mind. She waited until Penelope laid down before seriously saying, “There’s something I have to tell you as well.”

Turning her head so she was facing Josie, Penelope had a quizzical expression on her face as she asked, “What is it?”

Refusing to look at Penelope, Josie slowly replied, “We can’t tell Lizzie.”

\--------------------------

Walking around the school, Lizzie was on her way to find Josie. Their dad had told Lizzie something, and he wanted her to tell Josie as well. So here she was walking around the school trying to find Josie. She had checked all the public place she would usually hang out at. When she had checked the library, she was hit with a brief flash of a memory, but it was gone before she could really process what it was. She simply shook the incident off and left the library, coming to the realization that Josie must be in Penelope’s room. God only knew what her sister was up to with Penelope, it was something she really didn’t want to know. Which is exactly why she found herself hesitant to knock on the door because she was fearful of what she would be interrupting. This hesitance is what led to her hearing Josie saying to Penelope that they shouldn’t tell Lizzie something. Not bothering to hear what was said next, she opened the door and walked in, angrily asking, “What aren’t you two telling me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my friend Amy for telling me that the song in this chapter wasn't awful. She's the real MVP right now. I would just like to say that I've never written a song before, so I apologize if it isn't the best. I really tried though, so I hope you guys enjoyed it. Anyways, I thought I would close the chapter with a slight cliffhanger to keep you all in suspense. I really don't know how long this story is going to end up being, but I do know that it will be an even amount of chapters because even numbers rule. Also, there is one thing I think I should point out about this story, and that is the fact that the twins are already 16. I had to make it that way for the timeline of events I had written out for this. But there still will be a birthday party chapter, fear not! In conclusion, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! And if you want more of my nonsense, follow me on Twitter @posieclown


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to say that due to something I mention in this chapter, I slightly altered something from chapter 12, but it wasn't a super major plot point, so the overall integrity of the story remains the same. On that note, I would just like to say that this chapter might be a little disjointed because I wrote large portions of it at two different times, with two different ideas for the chapter apparently, so I tried to conenct them the best I could. I hope it flows well and also makes sense

Josie was startled when Lizzie burst into the room. Looking back and forth between her sister and Penelope, she was thankful when Penelope spoke up.

“We can’t tell you, it’s a surprise,” Penelope quickly came up with as a reason, hoping she sounded believable. She was usually good at coming up with lies, but she was still thrown off as to why Josie had said they wouldn’t be able to tell Lizzie. 

“Oh yeah? What’s it a surprise for?” Lizzie inquired, not fully believing what Penelope had said, it just didn’t make sense to her. Sure, her birthday was in a few months, but there was no way Josie and Penelope were already planning a gift. At least, she hadn’t started thinking about what to get Josie.

Seeing it as her turn to lie, Josie piped up, “It wouldn’t be a surprise if we told you, Lizzie.” Josie really hated that they were lying to Lizzie, but she strongly believed that the truth would do more harm than good right now.

“Come on you two, there’s no reason you two would be surprising me soon,” Lizzie said, voicing the thoughts that were in her head. She knew she had caught them in some form of lie when she saw her sister’s face fall at her words. 

Penelope and Josie both looked at each other, unsure of what to say, because Lizzie had somehow figured out they were lying to her. Granted, they both knew their excuse had been awful, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Lizzie would see right through it. Lizzie had always been good at seeing through people’s bullshit, and both girls knew it. Because of this, they were both struggling about where to go from here, because they had to tell Lizzie something at this point. Josie just made a defeated face at Penelope, and that’s when they both accepted that they would have to tell Lizzie whether it was a good decision to or not.

“Lizzie, Josie and I figured out how we managed to stop the Merge. Or rather, how someone else managed to stop it,” Penelope started, turning her attention to Lizzie, who at this point was moving to sit in Penelope’s desk chair.

“Actually, it was Penelope who figured out how it managed to be stopped,” Josie clarified, even though she knew it really didn’t matter in the grand scope of the story. 

“And why weren’t you going to tell me about how the Merge managed to be prevented? I think I deserve to know how something major in my life was prevented,” Lizzie stated, her voice full of outrage at how her sister and Penelope were going to keep this from her.

Josie glanced uncertainly at Penelope, unsure of where exactly to start. Hesitantly, she asked, “Penelope can you?”

“Yeah,” Penelope stated, taking a deep breath before explaining, “We weren’t going to tell you, because of the person who ended up actually stopping it. You and her were really close, and I mean really close. She discovered that the way to stopping the Merge was for her to destroy Malivore, which meant throwing herself into it. That’s why we couldn’t remember anything that one day, it’s because we forgot someone who was an important part of our lives. We shouldn't even have any knowledge of her, because she made us destroy it all, but I kept some of her most important possessions, and I kept a journal that told me everything that had happened.” Penelope looked away from Lizzie to Josie to see if Josie felt she left anything out. 

Josie just nodded at Penelope, not really having anything to add, because Penelope had vaguely touched on most everything that they had learned the previous day.

“H-How close was I with this person?” Lizzie stammered out, having made a mental note of how Penelope had seemed to want to get across the point that she had been close to this mystery girl.

“Lizzie, you were uh,” Josie uncertainly started, knowing there was no going back after she finished her sentence, “You were dating her.” Josie hated seeing the confused and hurt look that formed on Lizzie’s face, but there wasn’t anything she could say that could really make this better.

Lizzie sat in silence for a moment, processing the fact that there had been someone she had been in a relationship with, maybe someone she even loved with her entire being. This realization caused her to ask, “Did I love her?” Her voice cracked halfway through her sentence, because a part of her just knew that she probably had been in love with the girl. It was the only thing that made sense, why she couldn’t remember when she came out, just that she was out to the school. 

Sensing that Josie was hesitant to answer Lizzie’s question, Penelope replied, nervously looking away from Lizzie in the middle of her answer, “I don’t know if you ever said it to her, but it was obvious you loved her. . .you were crazy about her.”

Looking down at the ground, Lizzie let out a breath she hadn’t even been aware she was holding. She couldn’t believe this was happening right when she was about to ask Maya if she wanted to go out sometime. It was just her luck that right at this moment, her sister and Penelope would throw at her that her girlfriend had thrown herself into Malivore. As she thought about it, though, she realized that a lot of things she had done in the past month or so made sense. Why she had freaked out on a kid for sitting beside her in her one class, even though she had no idea who she would be saving the seat for. Or why she frequently wore this one hoodie because it made her feel good, but she had no idea where she had gotten it from. Or why a few times she had gone into one of the dorms in the school, as if out of habit, but she found it empty; she didn’t know what she had been expecting to find. Or, most importantly, why she seemed to only lay on one half of her bed, even though she remembers always sleeping in the middle. She had had no idea as to why she had been doing all these things, but now everything was starting to make sense, even if she couldn’t put a face to the girl, nor did she know the girl’s name.

“What was her name?” Lizzie asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked back up at Josie and Penelope.

“Hope,” Josie started cautiously, going on to continue, “Hope Mikaelson.” Feeling the need to continue talking, Josie hurriedly added, “She was the part of the Mikaelson family, which I guess is obvious, but we were able to figure out from Penelope’s journal about Hope that she’s the daughter of Klaus Mikaelson.”

Penelope gently placed her hand on Josie’s arm in an attempt to tell Josie to quit rambling, which worked, much to her surprise.

“She sounded powerful,” Lizzie quietly observed after taking in what Josie had said.

“She really was,” Penelope simply stated before explaining, “She was a tribrid from what I read last night, the only one in existence. However, she only activated her vampire side before going into Malivore in order to actually destroy him.” Penelope was watching for any signs of Lizzie’s emotions getting too extreme, but she was surprised to see that Lizzie didn’t seem to be expressing any emotion on her face, the blonde had schooled her expression into a neutral one.

“What I don’t understand is how her destroying Malivore stopped the Merge. How did that work?” Lizzie inquired, curious as to the logistics of everything.

Penelope knew the answer and started explaining, “From what I read in the journal, Malivore was created by a witch, a werewolf, and a vampire. In turn, those species couldn’t be harmed by them, the catch, however, was that the witch had a curse placed upon their coven, which just so happened to be the Gemini Coven. And of course the curse was the Merge. The only way to break the curse was with the destruction of Malivore, which of course could only be done by Hope because she’s the only tribrid.”

Lizzie just sat there while Penelope explained, and as she did so, she tried to make sense of her feelings. She wished she could say she felt something, but not knowing Hope, it was hard for her to feel anything. She wished she could feel the love she had felt for Hope but nothing was there. Maybe she felt sad at the whole situation because of the repercussions of what Hope had done, but having no memories, it led to anger forming out of the sadness. Sure, maybe she had done all those things out of her subconscious, but they had only made her confused, so she did the one thing she could think of, she pushed all her feelings about this whole situation away, because it was easier than being confused by it.

Noticing that her sister wasn’t saying anything, Josie asked with concern in her voice, “Are you okay Lizzie?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. If I’m being honest, I don’t really feel anything, and I hope it stays that way, because we don’t know if Hope is coming back, so why should I stay hung up on her? She jumped into Malivore over a month ago, she should be back by now if she was going to return,” Lizzie stated matter of factly before standing up and saying, “So with that in mind, I’m going to stick with what I was going to do, and I’m going to ask Maya out.” Not giving Josie or Penelope a chance to reply, Lizzie left, leaving the two girls in silence.

Josie and Penelope sat in stunned silence for a few moments; neither had expected Lizzie to react in such an indifferent matter, but they couldn’t help but wonder if what Lizzie had said was true. If Malivore was destroyed, Hope should theoretically be back by now, but she wasn’t. Then it dawned on both of them: what if Malivore hadn’t been destroyed and the Merge was still going to happen? That was a realization neither had been ready to discover.

Josie was the one to break the silence when she voiced her concerns, “What if she didn’t stop the Merge?” Out of nervousness, Josie started playing with her hands while Penelope answered her.

“I-I don’t know Jojo. We just have to believe she did, because she’s Hope Mikaelson. She can do anything she puts her mind to, at least that’s what the journal said,” Penelope answered, trying not to say anything that would cause Josie to worry.

“Why is it when you say something about Hope, you always add in the fact that you read it in your journal? I mean that can be easily assumed, because that’s our only source of information,” Josie questioningly said to Penelope.

Penelope closed her eyes, wishing Josie hadn’t asked her about it, because she really didn’t know how to explain it. She had a feeling it stemmed from when Hope had almost killed her when she was turned into a vampire; a part of the journal Penelope didn’t let Josie read. There had been a mention in her journal about how when Hope needed human blood, she had almost drained Penelope of hers. Which is why, after she realized what she had done, Hope had given Penelope some of her blood. Penelope had a feeling that her having Hope’s blood in her system when Hope jumped into Malivore, was the cause of some of the things that had been going on with her. Things that she hadn’t told anyone, because at first she thought she was crazy, but now everything was beginning to make sense. She just knew that telling Josie now would make her outraged. 

Opening her eyes, Penelope looked at Josie and started to explain, “There was something in the journal I didn’t let you read, and it was something that I would randomly get flashes about. I just never gave them much thought, but I realized that I should’ve.”

“How have you never alluded to them though?” Josie asked in response, slightly upset that Penelope had never brought this up with her.

“I honestly don’t know,” Penelope said before sighing and continuing, “I’d mostly get them when I was sleeping, so I always thought they were a weird dream. Plus, the events were always hazy.”

“I see,” Josie started out before asking, “What was it you didn’t let me read? And why are you the only one to have flashes of memory?”

Penelope paused in thought at Josie’s second question but eventually answered, “I didn’t let you read about the part where I killed Hope in order for her to activate her vampire side. I didn’t let you read it because in that section, it details how when Hope needed blood, she almost killed me. As an answer to your second question, I can only think that it’s because Hope had given me some of her blood so I could heal. And since she was what could destroy Malivore, her blood must interfere with the effects of Malivore. I must have had enough of her blood in my system still when she jumped that it managed to prevent my memories from being completely repressed.”

Josie was still upset with Penelope for never mentioning this to her, but she tried to bury it as she replied, “So she was the loophole to the Merge, but even then, she was also the loophole to destroying Malivore. That’s pretty interesting.”

“So you’re not mad?” Penelope hopefully asked, knowing she would have been mad had she been in Josie’s spot.

“Are you kidding me?” Josie incredulously asked before adding, “I’m really mad at you, but I’ll respect why you do what you did. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to pretend to be super mad at you for this.” With that, Josie laid down on Penelope’s bed facing away from Penelope as she closed her eyes for a few minutes to think.

Lovingly rolling her eyes at how dramatics Josie could be sometimes, Penelope realized there was probably a deeper motive to why Josie faced away from her. So testing her theory out, Penelope laid down beside Josie and started to spoon her, letting out a content sigh when Josie moved closer to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates of my fics will still be a little longer than usual due to finals, so please bear with me. I'll try to get back on the updating train once the semester is over. Until next time, farewell


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year all! I'm back with another update to this fic, and I hope you enjoy!

The next few months went by without much cause for concern. Josie and Penelope tried to figure out everything they could about Hope Mikaelson from what little they had in the box. The journal is what gave them most of their information they needed to know, but Penelope’s fractured memories also came in handy occasionally. Josie had gotten over her initial anger at the fact that Penelope had kept those flashes of memory from her, but after thinking about it she realized that Penelope probably really didn’t know what to make of them before she found the journal. The flashes were becoming more frequent though which neither girl understood because Hope’s blood was long out of Penelope’s system so it didn’t make sense for the flashes to be more frequent. Nevertheless, they tried to make as much sense of them as they could, but they were still left with a large amount of questions. It didn’t help matters that they were watching Lizzie start to date Maya, because as much as they both wanted Lizzie to be happy, they knew she was just trying to fill the hole that Hope had left behind when she jumped into Malivore. So they watched as romance bloomed between Lizzie and Maya, completely unable to stop it from happening. Penelope and Josie also took time to go on their own dates and they feel even deeper in love. There was one night in particular that stuck out to Josie; the night her and and Penelope sat on the roof of the school, where they sat, gazing at the stars, talking about their relationship. 

\--------------------------

_ “Josie, I’m glad we got this second chance at our relationship,” Penelope admitted, breaking Josie out of her intense studying of the stars. _

_ Josie had been attempting to find the constellation Lynx, but she turned her attention to Penelope as she replied, “I’m glad we did too, but what brought on that comment?” Sure, she was happy that they had managed to find their way back to one another, but Penelope’s comment had just caught her off guard. _

_ Penelope didn’t reply for a while—deep in thought about what she wanted to say—that Josie thought for a brief moment that Penelope had fallen asleep. Right before Josie turned to look, Penelope hummed slightly before saying, “It’s just that sitting here with you looking up at the stars, I think about how much I love you and how I almost lost the ability to do this kind of stuff with you…” Penelope trailed off before adding, “I might also be a little high, but it doesn’t change how I feel.” _

_ “I take it helping Jed went well if you managed to get high then,” Josie stated, lightly pumping into Penelope so that the girl wouldn’t think she was mad or anything. _

_ “He still has to ask Ethan out tomorrow, so we’ll see how good my help actually was,” Penelope said before going on to add, “I’m sure Ethan will say yes, but they better not come after our role as the school’s power couple.” As she said this, Penelope moved closer to Josie so that she could rest her head on the brunette’s shoulder. _

_ Josie just rolled her eyes at Penelope’s response as she seriously replied, “We weren't always the power couple of the school though. We only are now because we managed to bring out the best in each other. We didn’t always because I hid in what I thought was the safety of the codependent rabbit hole.” _

_ “So you’re saying that just because we weren’t always the power couple, that means we shouldn’t be mad if we lose that title?” Penelope asked incredulously, not getting why Josie would want that. _

_ “I’m just saying that things change, and we don’t need a dumb label to define our relationship. We’ll always have each other and you know that,” Josie responded, her words full of conviction. _

_ Penelope just let out a content sigh at Josie’s words, happy to know that Josie thought they would always be together when just a few months ago she wouldn’t be caught dead next to her. That thought stuck with Penelope and she voiced it by stating, “It’s funny how a few months changed your opinion on that.” _

_ “Who’s to say I didn’t believe in fate bringing us back together? Maybe I always saw us being there for each other,” Josie fired back in response, moving so she could lightly kiss Penelope’s forehead. _

_ Not saying anything in response to Josie, Penelope moved so that she could capture Josie’s lips with her own before Josie moved back to her original position she had been sitting in. SHe smiled into the kiss when Josie kissed her back. _

_ Kissing Penelope was a feeling Josie would never get tired of because it always caused a warm feeling in her body and she felt like nothing could go wrong as long as she was kissing her. This kiss was no exception, Josie could feel her heartbeat pick up as she felt warmth spread through her body. And like every other kiss, she could feel Penelope smiling into it, causing Josie to smile into it too. _

\--------------------------

Now it was approaching the twin’s seventeenth birthday and plans were in the works to throw a party. Penelope had already made sure she had the perfect gift; she had made a scrapbook of all the things she could add from their relationship. It entailed anything ranging from pictures of them to the small poster Josie had stolen from a diner they had visited once. Of course Penelope had left a bunch of blank pages so it could be added to in the future, but as of now it everything Penelope could think of adding. She had just finished wrapping it and was on her way to the empty room in the school that she assumed had been Hope’s in order to think when she walked in on something she didn’t necessarily want to see.

When Penelope opened the door she was met with the sight of Lizzie and Maya making out. She was pretty sure she had walked in seconds before it turned into something more than making out based on the expression on both Lizzie’s face as well as Maya’s face.

“Penelope! What are you doing here?” Lizzie exclaimed, her cheeks flushing a deep shade of red from embarrassment.

“Well, no one is ever in here, so I come here to think sometimes,” Penelope explained, trying not to think about how Lizzie was using her forgotten girlfriend’s old room to make out with her new girlfriend. She knew she would say something if she thought about it at all, so she made sure to shove any thoughts of it from her mind.

“Lizzie and I come here all the time,” Maya said, adding her thoughts to the conversation nas she also added, “Lizzie just says that she feels safe in this room because the odds of anyone walking in on us is slim, but I guess not slim enough.”

Penelope bit back the comment that was on her tongue at Maya’s words, instead opting to say, “I should go then. I’ll make a note to find a different place to think.”

“Try the library next time perhaps,” Lizzie suggested as Penelope left, closing the door behind her.

\--------------------------

It was the day before the twin’s birthday party and Penelope was helping out with decorations for the party. She had made sure there were white daisies since they were Josie’s favorite flower, and even added in some of Lizzie’s favorite. Her and Lizzie had managed to strike up a semblance of friendship, but they had discovered they managed to get along better when they were arguing, although there was no malice behind it anymore. Lizzie had actually helped with Penelope’s gift by taking the mementos Penelope needed for her scrapbook, and in turn, Penelope helped Lizzie pick out the perfect gift for Josie, a collector's edition of a book Josie had wanted.

As it stood, Penelope was finishing up hanging a decoration when she spotted Jed and called out to him, “Hey, you think you could help me get this last banner up? You’re taller than me and can obviously help.”

“I suppose I could,” Jed said, walking over towards Penelope and grabbing the banner that was on the ground. 

“Thanks,” Penelope replied, stepping off the stepladder so that Jed could get on it as she asked, “So how are things with you and Ethan?”

Jed climbed onto the stepladder before he answered Penelope, “It’s going really well to be honest. We get each other really well and accept everything about one another.” Turning his attention to the banner, he added, “I really like him.”

“I would think so. I’ve never seen you be this happy and carefree before. It’s like you’re a brand new person,” Penelope joked, knowing Jed wouldn’t be offended by her comment.

“The same could be said for you since you got back with Josie,” Jed fired back, glancing down at Penelope to see her smiling at the mention of Josie’s name.

“Maybe you’re right, but I won’t give you the joy of admitting you’re right,” Penelope stated, turning to walk away, throwing one last comment over her shoulder, “Make sure the banner is straight, it’s a little crooked right now.”

\--------------------------

A few hours later, Penelope and Josie were walking through town when they stumbled upon Maya who happened to be in town for some reason.

“Oh hey you two! I was just visiting my mom and was on my way back to the school,” Maya called out as she approached Penelope and Josie, adding, “I was getting the final part of Lizzie’s gift off of her, because it just arrived today. So much for two-day shipping, I ordered it three weeks ago.”

Josie just laughed at Maya’s last sentence, not knowing what to say. It wasn’t that she disliked Maya, it was just she didn’t know how to act around her, knowing what she did about Hope.

Penelope was aware of how Josie felt, so she took control of the situation by replying, “That sucks that it took that long, but at least it arrived just in time. I’m sure Lizzie will love whatever it is you’re going to give her tomorrow.”

Maya smiled at that, asking, “You really think so?”

“She definitely will because she cares about you,” Josie inputted, momentarily able to put aside how she felt about Maya because she could tell that Maya was nervous about how Lizzie would feel about the gifts. However, as soon as she said that, Josie went back to feeling awkward, focusing her gaze on the ground.

“Thanks Josie, that means a lot,” Maya said, a smile on her face as she quickly added, “Well I have to get going. Lizzie and I are doing something tonight and I have to get ready.” Maya left after both Josie and Penelope said their goodbyes, and then it was just Penelope and Josie standing in the middle of town.

Josie turned to Penelope and asked, “I know I don’t act the best around her, but did she seem nervous to you?”

“I mean maybe a little, but she also seemed to be in a hurry,” Penelope replied, squeezing Josie’s hand in reassurance, hoping her girlfriend wouldn’t try to overanalyze every little part of their conversation with Maya. She knew Josie did so a lot every time she happened to interact with Maya, and Penelope was always telling her not to because it didn’t do anyone any good. Before Josie could say anything, however, Penelope kept talking, “We should probably continue on to get our ice cream that you promised to me.”

“You would think your birthday is tomorrow instead of mine, but I guess we should probably get going,” Josie said in response, starting to walk again with Penelope right beside her.

So the two continued on to the ice cream parlor, talking the whole time the were walking. Penelope may have stolen a kiss or two when they walked down an empty street, knowing Josie wasn’t one to flaunt their relationship in front of the world. Then they were walking into the ice cream parlor and ordering their ice cream, ordering the same flavors they always did. They still opted to eat the same flavors even though months ago they had agreed they would order something different the next time they went on an ice cream date. Since that date, they had gone out for ice cream about eight more times, never once changing their order. Penelope brought that up while they were eating their ice cream, but Josie just shrugged it off, saying something to the effect that there was no need to change if she knew what she liked. The rest of their time in the ice cream parlor went by quickly, and soon they were leaving to head back to the Salvatore school.

Penelope was in the middle of saying something to Josie about a project for one of their classes, when she looked out and saw a familiar face that her brain didn’t immediately place because she had only seen it in pictures. That is, until she was hit by a wave of memories, managing to turn to Josie to say, “It’s Hope,” before passing out in the middle of the town square, leaving a concerned Josie who looked at Penelope and then looked towards where Penelope had looked, to see the girl her sister had been dating, running towards them, concern written across her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm setting up for some serious issues to be addressed in the next chapter, most importantly why Penelope's memories were restored and no one else got their memories back, as well as just Hope recounting her time in Malivore. Stay tuned for that!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I finally had time to write the next chapter for this fic, and with this comes some news. I think this fic is coming to an end at some point in the next few chapters, because I'm almost done telling the story that I want to tell. A rough guess right now would be that I'm aiming for 20 chapters, but I'll know for certain once I see how the next few chapters go. I hope y'all enjoy!

The day Hope jumped into Malivore to save the girl she loved was one of the hardest days of her life. At the time, she had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she knew she had to do it. Nothing in her life had prepared her for the isolation she would be subjected to for months, granted she had no idea how much time had actually gone by. Then there were the times where she wouldn’t be alone, where Malivore would try to defend itself, sending differing creatures to kill her. These creatures, she realized after waking up in Mystic Falls, were just steps in the process of destroying Malivore once and for all.

When she woke up in the middle of town, she thought it was just another monster that was tormenting her mentally, but that was before she heard the sound of people around her. That was different than what she had usually faced in Malivore, plus the feeling of hunger was something she hadn’t felt in a while. She knew she had to be home, but it didn’t feel like home since she was just a forgotten memory. There was only one place she could go though, the Salvatore School, so she found herself walking through town en route to the school when she saw Josie and Penelope. As soon as she locked eyes with the latter, she knew something was wrong, and then when Penelope passed out, she knew she had to do something, so she ran towards the couple, knowing she was going to be in for a lot of questions.

\--------------------------

Josie didn’t know what to make of the situation; between the fact that Penelope just passed out in the middle of town and that the girl who had thrown herself into Malivore was approaching, it was too much for her to take in at one time. But she tried to. As Penelope had fallen, Josie had caught her and had eased her to the ground while Hope hurried towards them. Fortunately, as she looked around more, there was no one in sight, so she called out to the girl, “I’d say welcome back, but I don’t remember you ever leaving.” Josie could see this caught Hope off guard, but what else could she have said in this situation?

“If you don’t remember me, how do you know I’m returning?” Hope questioned, knowing full well the answer probably stemmed from Penelope who was incapable of supplying any answers at the moment.

“I’d say call it a hunch, but I’m sure you can gather it’s because of Penelope’s current state,” Josie shot back, turning her attention to Penelope as she added, “I don’t know how long she’s going to be out for, but we need to get her back to the school. I have no idea what happened, she saw you and collapsed.”

Crouching down, Hope looked from Penelope to Josie as she replied, “As true as that is, how do you reckon we get her back? We could carry her back, but that might lead to people asking questions if we see any.”

Frowning at the truth to Hope’s words, Josie suggested, “Kaleb has access to a car, and he owes me a favor, so I can call him.” Josie reached into her pocket to grab her phone while continuing to talk to Hope, “You should come too, because if what Penelope had written in her journal correctly, you’re going to be in need of blood.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m just glad we have a plan,” Hope said as she carefully thought her next words out carefully, “I take it Penelope kept some sort of journal documenting everything that happened, even though I told her not to.”

“Yeah she did. And before I call Kaleb, I need to tell you something about Lizzie. . .” Josie trailed off, hating that what she had to say was going to hurt the girl in front of her.

“What about her? Is she alright?” Hope questioned, her voice filled with worry.

“Lizzie is fine,” Josie started, taking a deep breath as she continued talking, “It’s just that since you apparently jumped into Malivore and wiped yourself from everyone’s memory, Lizzie started dating someone else. While you were gone, these twins moved to our school, and she started dating the one.” 

When Hope didn’t say anything, Josie reached out, placing her hand on Hope’s and squeezing it gently, “I want to tell you everything will be okay, but I don’t know what’s going to happen now that you’re back.”

“I-I see,” Hope said, the hurt in her voice painfully obvious as she went on to ask, “Is she happy though?”

“I’d like to think that she’s happy, but I also know there’s a lot of stuff she has chosen to bury,” Josie admitted as she unlocked her phone and called Kaleb.

\--------------------------

When Penelope woke up the first thing she noticed was the killer headache she had, and the fact that she had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was, well, a lot of things. A lot of memories that she didn’t know what to do with. Years of experiences and shared secrets that were suddenly hitting her all at once. It was too much and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep, but she could hear people talking.

“Jo, are you going to tell me why I had to come pick you up because Penelope passed out? And who’s this girl?”

Penelope recognized that the voice belonged to Kaleb, so at least this told her how she ended up back in what she assumed was her room at the Salvatore School. She realized she should probably say something to say she was awake, but Josie was saying something.

“It’s complicated Kaleb. Just know that Hope is alright.”

There was a pause and then Josie was speaking again, “She’s, uh, an old friend that I made when I visited my mom in Europe a few years ago. She’s just visiting for a few days so we can catch up. Penelope passing out was not a part of the plan.”

Propping herself up on her elbows, Penelope cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention as she said, “Which I have recovered from, so need to worry anymore.” She could see a look of relief on everyone’s face, so she asked, “How long was I out for?”

“About an hour or so,” Hope said, speaking up for the first time since Penelope woke up.

“I was honestly beginning to think you died Penelope,” Kaleb joked, receiving a death glare from Josie at the idea, causing him to apologize, “Just kidding though. I know nothing, even death, would stop you from being Josie’s date to her birthday party tomorrow.”

“It’s March?” Hope breathed out, realizing just how long she had been gone, because for her, it still felt like the beginning of November.

Kaleb looked at Hope with a concerned look on his face, “Did you hit your head or something?”

“She’s fine. She must just be really jet lagged from her flight here,” Josie said, answering for Hope. 

“Well if you’re sure, I’m gonna get back to hanging out with MG,” Kaleb said, turning to leave the room.

“Tell MG that he and I need to have our MarioKart rematch while you’re at it,” Penelope called after him, realizing that she hadn’t honored MG’s request for a rematch yet. After Kaleb was gone, Penelope focused her attention on Hope, “So, you decided to rejoin the world Mikaelson?”

Hope let out a small laugh at that before becoming serious, “I finally destroyed Malivore I guess, although, it might’ve destroyed me a little bit along with it. So much shit happened while I was in there. Of course, some of it wasn’t real, but it felt so real. But I’m just glad to be back here, even if a lot has changed.”

“If you want to talk about it we’re here for you. We were here for you before, and that hasn’t changed,” Josie said to Hope, offering a small smile to the girl.

“Josie, I appreciate that but you don’t even remember me, and I know that’s harsh, but I just don’t see how you can help a stranger,” Hope replied, defeat in her voice.

Penelope sensed that Hope was just trying to alienate herself, so she opted to ignore the anger at Hope’s words to Josie as she spoke, “That doesn’t mean you have to stay a stranger to her Hope. You two were friends, and that means you’ll be able to become friends again and make new memories. And if that isn’t good enough for you, I for some reason remember you as I’m sure you’ve gathered.”

“I guess you have a point, but I don’t understand why you’re the only one to remember me; it doesn’t make any sense,” Hope said, biting her bottom lip as she thought about it.

Josie answered this, suggesting, “Penelope and I have talked about it, and we think it’s because when you jumped into Malivore, she still had some of your blood in your system, so Malivore didn’t work to the full effect on her. And don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you for almost killing my girlfriend.

“You being protective is really cute Jojo,” Penelope lovingly said, going on to say to Hope, “Maybe you should almost kill me more so I can see this side of her more.”

“Absolutely not!” Josie exclaimed, which earned a signature smirk from Penelope.

A brief silence settled among the three girls before Hope spoke, “So what are we going to do about me? No one else knows that I’m here except Kaleb, and only you two know who I really am, so what’s the plan?”

“I should talk to my dad and get you enrolled at the school probably,” Josie suggested, knowing it was realistically the only solution.

Penelope glanced at Josie when she thought about the fact of Lizzie now dating Maya. “Did you tell her about you know?” Penelope asked Josie, not wanting to say what it was if Hope didn’t know.

“Yes, I know about Lizzie as much as it hurts to know. . .” Hope trailed off, absentmindedly adding, “At least she’s alive and I know that.”

Both Penelope and Josie shared a quick glance at Hope’s distant comment before Penelope spoke again, asking, “Do you think it’s a good idea for you to stay here and see her with Maya? I know you need somewhere to stay, but I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“She does have a point Hope; neither one of us want to see you hurt,” Josie commented, backing Penelope up.

“I’ll be fine. I would be insane to think she wouldn’t move on since it’s like I never existed to the whole world,” Hope stated, hiding any hint of emotion from her voice. She knew it was pointless and that the two girls would know that she was hurting, but she still felt it was better to act like she wasn’t impacted.

Josie looked at Penelope, then back to Hope as she said, “Look, it’s true that I don’t really have any memory of you, but from what I’ve read, you two were ridiculously in love. Penelope made it a point to say that in her journal at one point. And sometimes there are issues that arise in a relationship, but you can always get past them. Love just doesn’t go away; the feelings she had for you are still there, no matter how repressed they are right now. I know I should be in support of Maya, but there’s just something about her that bothers me, granted I’ll never say anything to Lizzie about it.”

Penelope just sat there, taking in what Josie had said, having a feeling that part of her speech was steered towards their relationship as well as Hope and Lizzie’s relationship. She knew she should say something too, but the pain in her head was getting worse, so she just let Josie and Hope continue on with the conversation for a little bit.

“So you’re saying that I should try to be with Lizzie even though she’s in a relationship?” Hope asked, confused as to what Josie was trying to get across.

“I’m just saying that Lizzie and Maya don’t seem to have a relationship that will last forever. Part of that is because she knows she’s missing you, but another part is that something just doesn’t seem right about Maya,” Josie explained, hoping that Lizzie wasn’t lurking outside for some reason like she had been on Christmas. 

When Lizzie didn’t burst into the room, Josie continued speaking, “I’m just saying we introduce you to her and see where it goes from there, that’s all. Don’t you think that it’s a good idea Penelope?”

Penelope looked up when she heard her name and responded, “Yeah, sounds great. Lizzie might not know Hope but the feelings will be there.”

Josie frowned, “Are you okay? You seem off, and I know you did just get hit with a bunch of memories, but you don’t seem good.”

“I just have a headache, that’s all,” Penelope admitted, going on to suggest, “Why don’t you go introduce Hope to Lizzie and maybe a few other people in the school, and maybe get her enrolled here while I take a nap.”

Glancing at Hope, Josie waited for her to say something about getting enrolled at the school and being introduced to people she already knew, specifically Lizzie.

“That would probably be smart, that way I can stay here, and people won’t be wary of me,” Hope said, focusing her gaze on the floor when she thought about what seeing Lizzie again would be like.

“Alright then, let’s go I guess,” Josie started before focusing her attention on Penelope, “I’ll be back later to see how you’re feeling, and if you need anything, just call me and I’ll be here before you know it.”

Penelope weakly smiled at Josie, loving just how caring her girlfriend was, “Sounds like a plan. I can’t wait to see you later.” She watched as Josie smiled back at her and then left the room with Hope. Laying there in her bed, it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I have for now, I hope you guys enjoyed. I also hope everyone enjoyed the Kai episode and are looking forward to this week's episode! As always, you can find me on Twitter @posieclown  
Have a great day everyone!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has really been a while since I updated this (over two months actually). So I'm here with the next chapter, enjoy!

“Do you think Penelope is okay?” Josie asked as soon as they were out of Penelope’s room.

“I’m sure she’ll be okay. I’m sure getting hit with all those memories wasn’t easy, especially since her mind was already split from having my blood in her system when I jumped,” Hope offered as a response to Josie’s question, “It’ll all be fine, she just needs rest for her mind to process everything.”

Josie nodded at Hope’s words, hoping the tribrid was right before asking another question, “Do you think it’s smart to introduce you to Lizzie? She knows your name from when we told you about her, so I don’t know how she would react.”

Hope frowned at Josie’s words, proceeding to answer with, “It’s probably not a good idea then, because I don’t want to derail her mental health. For now, I can just be a stranger and if there comes a time where I have to introduce myself, I’ll deal with it then.”

“Very well then. We better get to my dad’s office to enroll you in the school still,” Josie stated, starting to walk towards her dad’s office.

\--------------------------

“So you know this girl how, Josie?” Alaric asked as he looked back and forth between his daughter and a girl he had never seen before.

Dodging the question, Josie just explained, “She’s a friend dad, and she needs a place to stay. This school will be good for her, so we shouldn’t send her away.”

“I wouldn’t have an issue with it, but I have no idea who she is and you won’t tell me how you know her,” Alaric said, his voice slightly agitated.

“Jo, we should just tell him,” Hope suggested, knowing it would be the only way for her to be able to stay.

“Tell me what exactly?” Alaric question, growing increasingly more upset with what was going on.

Sighing, Josie took a deep breath to prepare for what she was about to explain, “She’s the reason the Merge was prevented from happening, and why we haven’t seen any monsters since November. She single-handedly destroyed Malivore and somehow just now escaped. Her name’s Hope Mikaelson, Dad. I didn’t want you to know her whole story, because she had been dating Lizzie before she was wiped from our memories, and you obviously know why that’s a problem.”

Processing his daughter’s short explanation, Alaric directed his question towards Hope, “So you destroyed Malivore and are the reason one of my daughters won’t have to die when they turn twenty-two?”

Hope nodded, offering an explanation of her own, “I figured out how to stop it from my Aunt Freya. She sent me an ancient text that mentioned the Merge. I had enlisted the help of your daughters and Penelope to erase every trace of me from existence here, but Penelope kept a journal and some keepsakes of who I was. That’s why Josie knows who I am even though she doesn’t have her memories. Penelope has her memories though because when I jumped into Malivore, she had my blood in her system from when I had almost killed her the previous day. When she saw me, she passed out and got her memories back.” Hope paused briefly before quietly adding, “I just want to return to school here where all my friends are, even if they don’t all remember me.”

“Dad! Have you seen Josie? She wasn’t in our roo-” Lizzie’s voice rang out as she entered Alaric’s office as her eyes landed on Josie causing her to say, “Oh, here she is with. . .”

“Hope,” Hope said at first before hesitantly adding, “Hope Marshall. I’m new and I was just meeting with your dad.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be hanging out with Maya?” Josie asked, remembering how Maya had mentioned how she was hanging out with Lizzie tonight.

“No?” Lizzie answered in a questioning manner, “She told me she had plans with Ethan tonight and couldn’t hang out. Why?”

Josie frowned, wondering why Maya had lied as she cautiously answered, “It’s nothing. Penelope and I just saw her earlier and she said you two were doing something. I must’ve misheard her.”

It was Lizzie’s turn to frown at what her twin had said, “You must’ve.” Lizzie focused her gaze on Hope to study what she looked like. 

Hope was sitting in silence, just staring at Lizzie as her brain short-circuited at the fact that Lizzie was in front of her right now. Sure, she had been able to tell Lizzie her name—or at least a version of her name—but now she was stunned into silence.

Her frown deepening as Hope stared at her, Lizzie scoffed, “Does she have a staring problem or something?”

“Lizzie,” Alaric warned, “Be nice. She’s going to be attending the school and I want her to feel welcome by everyone, and that includes you. She’s actually pretty important to the school, so try to be on your best behavior.”

“Well she has a staring problem,” Lizzie fired back, sending a glare in Hope’s direction, “And how is some random girl important to this school?”

“She just is Lizzie,” Josie said, defending Hope, “Listen to Dad, he’s right.” She knew they were teetering on the edge of a disaster if it went further, but she also knew her twin; Lizzie wouldn’t stop until she was satisfied with the answer she was given.

“So you and Dad get to know why she’s so important but I don’t?” Lizzie questioned, her voice laced with accusation.

Coming out of her stupor, Hope spoke for herself, “I was helping research the Merge with your mom in Europe. I had a lot of ties to old texts so she let me help her, and now that it’s over with, she wanted me to attend the school. It just took awhile for me to be able to get here.” Pausing, Hope added in a reminiscent tone, “And I’m sorry for staring, you just remind me of someone I dated. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Lizzie narrowed her eyes, “You know our mom?”

“Yeah, she talked about you guys all the time,” Hope slowly stated while she tried to come up with what to say, “So I guess you could say I know a lot about you.”

“Great, a stranger who knows everything about me, and I know nothing about her, “ Lizzie remarked, her disdain evident before she continued, “Regardless, I just needed Josie for a few minutes if that’s okay.”

“That’s perfectly fine Lizzie. I wanted to speak to Hope alone anyways,” Alaric stated.

Josie glanced at Hope to see what she thought about this, and when she nodded Josie looked at her sister and said, “Alright, let’s go. Hope I’ll be back when we’re done so I can take you to your room.”

\--------------------------

“So what did Lizzie need you for?” Hope asked as soon as her and Josie had met back up. 

Josie could hear how desperate Hope was to know about Lizzie, and she would be lying if she said it didn’t break her heart. She may not have any memories of Hope, but she could only imagine what it would be like to see the girl you love and for her to have no memory of you. Personally, she had no idea what she would do if she was in a similar situation with Penelope, and she didn’t want to picture it, which is why she knew she had to be honest with Hope.

“She wanted to make sure yet again that her dress for tomorrow was going to match Maya’s. I had to stare at a picture of Maya’s dress for five minutes making sure it went with hers.”

“Oh…”

Hope’s answer was quiet, almost resigned, and Josie did what she was good at, comforting people. She wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, knowing the hug wouldn’t change matters, but it could make her feel slightly better. Her thinking proved to be true when Hope leaned into the hug, practically collapsing in Josie’s arm. It was then that Josie could feel warm, wet tears on her arm.

“Hey, it’s all going to be alright Hope,” Josie comforted, just standing there holding Hope in the middle of the school. 

“You don’t know that,” Hope choked out, “She’s moved on and I shouldn’t come between her and Maya. I made the decision to jump into Malivore. I need to accept the consequences.”

“But she never made the decision to forget you existed,” Josie countered, not knowing what she was going for, just voicing her thoughts before she actually thought them through.

Pulling back from the hug, Hope gave Josie a confused look, “She let me jump into Malivore though, knowing what would happen.” As she spoke, she wiped the tears from her eyes in an attempt to not look like a mess.

“She probably didn’t want to though and knew you wouldn’t change your mind on the matter,” Josie stated, not really knowing if she was right or not. All she had was what she learned from Penelope’s journal and from knowing her sister’s emotion. 

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Hope said, crossing her arms as she suggested, “We should go check on Penelope. See if she’s awake yet.”

Josie stared at Hope for a beat, realizing she had messed up, but conceded to Hope’s suggestion, “I doubt she is, but we can always go see.”

\--------------------------

The first thing Penelope heard when she woke up was the sound of Josie and Hope bickering over something.

“I’m just going to avoid your sister.”

“You can’t do that forever. You’re bound to see each other, especially if you have similar classes.”

“Then I won’t go to those classes.”

“You can’t just skip class! You’ll get in trouble.”

“I was trapped in a giant mud pit for four months, I think I can survive missing classes.”

Penelope knew she should announce that she was awake, but honestly, listening to her girlfriend and best friend argue was funny, so she let it continue.

“What are you going to do when we find a way to ultimately bring back everyone’s memories? You won’t be able to avoid her then.”

“I’ll take my chances. I can’t interfere with her relationship, it would be wrong. And I know if I even interacted with her, I would mess up and then everything would go to shit.”

“Look, what you do is your decision, but I think you’re making the wrong ones. I’m not saying to crash her relationship, I’m just saying to be civil towards her. Maybe befriend her if possible. Things will work out, they always find a way to.”

When Hope didn’t say anything, Penelope knew she had no choice to declare that she was awake. Opening her eyes, she saw that Josie was sitting in her desk chair, and Hope was pacing back and forth across the floor. Clearing her throat she asked, “What time is it?”

“Almost ten o’clock. You were out for a while Pen,” Josie answered, her gaze focused on Penelope.

“I thought we were going to have to check for a pulse,” Hope commented, earning a small laugh from Penelope.

“I am most certainly still alive,” Penelope remarked, looking back and forth between Hope and Josie before speaking again, “I caught the tail-end of your argument, so I have a few things to say. Hope, quit being a dumbass, you’re going to go to your classes. I know it hurts to see the girl you love with someone else, but you don’t want to make her suspicious about why you avoid her. Secondly, Josie, you’re going to have to tell me why you are so hellbent on breaking Maya and your sister up once Hope leaves. I need to know the reason.” Realizing the one flaw in her thinking, she quickly asked, “Hope, you do have a room, right?”

“Yeah, Alaric assigned me my old room. He said it’s been empty since I’ve been gone,” Hope responded.

“Good,” Penelope started, knowing she needed to get rid of Hope so she lied as she continued, “I know I just woke up, but my head is still killing me, so could you maybe skedaddle and give Josie and I some time alone to talk before I go to sleep again?”

A look of concern flashed across Hope’s face at Penelope’s mention of still having a headache, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Hope. I just need to rest,” Penelope assured the tribrid, “Plus, you probably have things you need to attend to in your room.”

“You’d be right with that assumption. I guess I’ll see you two tomorrow. Goodnight,” Hope said, offering a small smile to the two girls before turning to leave.

“Goodnight Hope,” Josie called out as Hope left.

“Yeah Hope, goodnight,” Penelope also said as Hope closed the door behind her.

As soon as Hope was gone, Josie was moving to lay on the bed with Penelope as she asked, “Does your head actually hurt?”

“You know me so well Jojo,” Penelope commented, smirking at Josie as she continued, “It doesn’t hurt at all. I just wanted to get rid of her so I could learn why you dislike Maya so much.”

“It doesn’t take a master’s degree to know you were lying. You’re honestly a horrible liar,” Josie revealed before looking up at the ceiling as she said her next words carefully, “It’s not that I dislike her, it’s just that I’ve always gotten a weird vibe off of her. And we also knew about Hope so it felt weird acting like everything was okay. But do you remember how we ran into Maya in town today and she said she had to get back to do something with Lizzie?”

“I do, why?” Penelope questioned, curious to see where Josie’s explanation was going.

“Well, when I was in my dad’s office with Hope, she burst in wondering where I was, and when I asked why she wasn’t with Maya, she said her and Maya hadn’t had anything planned. That just rubs me the wrong way that Maya lied, so I think she’s up to something.”

“There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by figuring out why she lied. I agree that it’s weird how she lied to us. That’s a task for tomorrow at the party or beforehand though,” Penelope yawned out the last part before finishing her statement, “I’m still pretty tired, so I'm of no use for a covert operation right now.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Josie confirmed as she got comfier on the bed, “Goodnight Penelope. I love you.”

“I love you too Jojo,” Penelope tiredly said, but the love was still evident in her voice, “We’ll make sure everything gets back to normal.”

“I hope you’re right,” Josie said, turning off the bedside lamp, casting the room in darkness as both girls settled into their regular sleeping positions to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I only planned on a few more chapters, but after writing this, I have no clue anymore, so uh, we'll see. I know what I want to write, but I'm running into the issue of being able to play out all the events I want to. That is what's making me rethink everything, because a heavy part of this chapter was just one conversation, so it's up in the air right now.

**Author's Note:**

> Well that was the end of the first chapter! I hope to have this updated soon, since I have the second chapter in progress already, and it's going to be through Josie's point of view. Anyways, any comments are greatly appreciated!


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